Modern Age
by hidaruma
Summary: UP FOR ADOPTION—anyone interested in continuing or rewriting this please let me know. As much as I'd like to continue this story on principle alone, I'm just not all that invested in either Fairy Tail or Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei to see myself continuing. *Edit* Story has been adopted by Bronzeapollo708.
1. Black Sheep

Chapter 1: Black Sheep

 ***Before anyone starts reading this story, let me explain a few things. This is a story where the characters from Fairy Tail take the place of the characters in the** **Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei universe. If anyone hasn't heard of that series then I recommend checking it out. The two plots will be merged, with much of the Fairy Tail plot happening a bit in Natsu's early life and much more once high school starts.**

 **The first chapter will be dictated by age and will depict the background and events that shaped Natsu into what he is, the rest of the story will occur normally.**

 **Much more will be explained later on, in both the story and author's note's.**

 **This story was inspired by _fujin of shadows's_ story: "** _ **Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei: IS Style"**_ **and I had gotten his permission about a month ago to write this story. The two stories may sound similar for the first few chapters, but that is because a large portion of the beginning contains a lot of the descriptions and explanations of modern magic, therefore it is based upon the light novel.**

 **For those who do not know CAD= Cast Assisting Device, and they will be mentioned quite a bit throughout the story. Actually, any term you don't recognize, I would recommend looking up to understand the story better. Though I will try to explain mort of them in story.**

 **This story will not be updated as quickly as my other one, it is only something that I was inspired by after reading _fujin of shadows's_ story and re-reading the light novels.**

* * *

I own neither Fairy Tail nor Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.

* * *

 **Modern Age: Black Sheep**

 _What purpose does my existence hold?_

 _Was it good that I was born?_

 _Would anybody shed a single tear if I were die at this moment?_

 _These were the questions that had plagued my mind for the majority of my early life._

 _I had always considered my existence worthless._

 _I had always thought I was born into the wrong era...or perhaps maybe just the wrong clan...the wrong family._

 _I had always wanted a normal, peaceful life. I had always enjoyed the simple things in life, delicious food, a good laugh, a beautiful sunset, that sort of thing._

 _However, I was born into an era where peace was no longer a feasible option. The world had been militarized long ago, just after the end of the second world war. This was all made possible with the technological advancement of magic._

 _I was never one for conflict. My family thrived in the business of war, but they had never managed to instill those ideals in me. I had always been a peace seeker, a pacifist, I avoided fights, training, and conflict whenever I could. They considered me the failure in the clan. The black sheep._

 _This was all before I met her. That was before I had something to protect. That was before I understood that this world is built upon war and bloodshed. That was before I became one of the most dangerous magicians in the world._

 _This is my story. The story of a magician once known as Natsu Dragneel._

* * *

 **Age 6**

In the current era of magic, age was considered relatively unimportant. It was not uncommon to see child soldiers wandering the battlefield and fighting in wars. That wasn't the current case for the Dragneel clan.

The only exception to this declaration was Ikaruga Dragneel.

Ikaruga Dragneel is a very unique being. She is the most talented magician of her era and the strongest magician that the Dragneel clan had produced since the clan head, Igneel Dragneel. She is currently fifteen-years old and is quite well known throughout the magical community. Some refer to her as a prodigy that hadn't been seen in generations. She was capable of casting multiple B-rank spells at the age of six. Others know her as one of the powerful child soldiers to every emerge from the battlefield.

She had first stepped foot into the war-zone at the tender age of six, and soon after rose to fame because of her beauty, power, and efficiency in combat. Much of Japan praises her for her efforts, but no matter what anyone says, a child is not meant for war. It doesn't matter how skilled they are.

After being exposed to war at such an early age, Ikaruga became a very stern, strict, and cold person. She rarely smiles anymore, but that is to be expected. Even after years of fighting on so many different battlefields, it will take a long time for a person to accept who they are and what they've done.

Natsu had always been quite close with Ikaruga. The entire clan sees her as an award, a trophy for their years of training her and a sign to their enemies and other clans of just how strong the Dragneel clan is. Their father could not care less about any of his children. He was civil with them most of the time, nothing more. Natsu's other twin sister see her as a rival and someone that she is constantly compared to. Their cousin is rather emotionless and does not exactly have an opinion of Ikaruga.

Natsu may be the only one in the clan who treats Ikaruga as a human being, and she adores him for that. He loved having Ikaruga as a sister, not because of her power or beauty, but because she was his sister and that was enough for him. He believed hat because they were siblings that they were guaranteed unconditional love, he couldn't have been more wrong.

Ikaruga may have been the eldest of the sisters, but that didn't mean that she was the only one.

Meredy was the Natsu's twin sister. They were always together, those two were the best of friends. Though, Meredy always had problems interacting with others, even those just outside of her immediate family she had trouble dealing with. She was a bit socially awkward and didn't quite know how to deal with people, but that mainly came from the clan sheltering and being overprotective of them for most of their short lives. Outside of the compound walls, neither of them had many friends.

She had a bit of an inferiority complex too. Many believed that it had come from always being compared to Ikaruga and being told that she wasn't good enough or not living up to her full potential. It didn't help that they looked quite similar. Though, Meredy was nowhere near the level that Ikaruga was at their age, and that is what led her to always feeling inferior.

Natsu is the youngest and the only boy of the Dragneel siblings. Because he is the only boy in most cases he would be on the fast track to becoming the next clan heir, however Natsu is far from being the ideal member of the Dragneel clan.

He was the black sheep of the family. He did not fight, he never liked to fight.

It wasn't that he couldn't fight, he could be as dangerous as any member of the clan if he wanted to. Natsu had discovered a portion of the magic he could use early on, he was something of a born specialist.

However, even in this day and age of magic, his magic was something that was unheard of. He made the decision not to tell the clan because he knew that they weren't above performing experiments on him just to get their hands on it.

Natsu had always been a kind child, that is why he didn't fight. Of course nobody knew it, but he was a prodigy in his own right maybe even surpassing the limits of his sisters. He was observant from a very early age and could already think like an emperor, knowing every in and out of how their clan operated, that's why he could say he hated them. He knew of the clan elder's dealings under the table and what kind of man his father truly was, he knew all of the Dragneel's dirty little secrets. This is why he couldn't stand the idea of clans.

Because of his refusal to fight, the clan elders tried to disown and remove him from the clan at a very early age. They were only prevented by his grandfather Igneel, because he hated how the clan was and desperately wanted for them to treat each other like a real family would.

It was a fool's dream. The Dragneel clan was a clan made up of soldiers and magicians who had gained power and influence during the third world war. They could never possibly accept someone who didn't want to fight. There was no purpose for those who couldn't fight. Love and family meant nothing to them. All they valued was power. They would do everything and anything to benefit the clan. All is for the clan, that is their mantra. Even his family's.

Natsu could never stand their way of thinking. He would never blindly follow the ideals of a corrupt clan who would sooner throw him to the wolves than treat him like family. Natsu could always see the big picture. They were nothing more than puppets at the clan's disposal, to use and throw away whenever it was convenient for them.

It was because of this that Natsu had always tried his hardest to distance himself from the clan. But sometimes he still wondered if it would ever be possible for him and his sisters to act like the family that he had always wanted.

The rest of his family was a bit more complicated.

The clan was one of the greatest military assets that Japan ever had at their disposal, only to be matched by a handful of the other prominent clans within the country. The Dragneel clan was led by Igneel Dragneel. He was one of the strongest magicians that Japan had ever seen, in fact, had he not been associated with a clan then he would have been offered a position as one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Even in his advanced age.

Natsu's cousin may not have been immediate family but with how things have been progressing within the clan, he found comfort in her presence. Virgo Dragneel may not have been the same kind of prodigy that her cousin was, but she was a competent mage in her own right. Natsu found her to be a bit of comedic relief compared to the rest of the pretentious clan. She always was asking to be punished whether or not what she did was unacceptable or not, he found her to be a bit of a masochist. She was usually stoic and stiff, but Natsu enjoyed her presence.

The less said about Loke Dragneel, the better. Loke Dragneel is the son of Igneel Dragneel and the father of Ikaruga, Meredy, and Natsu. His wife died during the birth of the twins due to the physical weakening of her body that had been accumulating over the years. He was a businessman and a politician. He was a powerful magician, but nowhere near the caliber of the other's in the Dragneel clan. What he lacked in strength, he made up for with his ability to manipulate anyone through words alone.

Natsu never liked his father, in fact he outright hated the man. As stated before, Natsu knew all of the Dragneel clan's darkest secrets. And his father had many. What he hated the most about his father was the fact that Loke had constantly cheated on their mother. Natsu didn't care that he had never met her before, he loved her just for giving birth to him and his sisters. Natsu had found countless records of his father's adultery. He even found records that stated that the man had an illegitimate child, though it didn't state any specific names.

What bothered Natsu the most was the fact that his father knew he had another child, but didn't take responsibility for his actions. While Natsu did know that it would have repercussions for the clan, those who didn't care for their family were nothing more than trash in his eyes. Loke Dragneel was a man who cared more about his own status than his own family, that much was certain.

Natsu began to wonder how long it would be before he was forced to bare his fangs. He knew that once he drew upon his magic, there would be no going back. He feared what he could become if he mastered his magic, the possibilities were endless.

* * *

 **Age 7**

Natsu was no fool. He knew that the day would come when he would have embrace what he was capable of. He had just never thought that it would come so soon. Today was the day that his life would really begin.

What had forced him to show his hand was a girl.

A young blonde girl by the name of Mavis.

Natsu had easily evaded the bodyguards that his grandfather always sent to follow him when he left the clan compound. He had easily eluded his personal guard before even leaving Tokyo. Natsu never liked the city of Tokyo, it was far too crowded and busy for his tastes. He preferred the calm and relaxing atmosphere of Hargeon Town, just south of Tokyo.

He loved visiting the marina and taking in the ocean breeze and the beautiful sunset.

As he felt the ocean breeze on his face he began to think back to the events that had occurred throughout the last year. He cringed slightly as how bad his relationship with his clan was getting. Natsu honestly couldn't possibly understand how they were related. Nobody would ever even consider Natsu being a Dragneel until they saw his proficiency with magic, even though they could easily spot the trademark pink hair.

Over the course of the past year, Natsu had begun training in a temple in Tokyo. It was in this temple that he was being trained in ninjutsu, taijutsu, kenjutsu, fuinjutsu, and many other ancient magics and arts that didn't require a high proficiency in magic to preform. The man in charge of the temple was none other than Mystogan, the foremost authority on ancient magic in Japan and a self-proclaimed shinobi.

Natsu had chosen to take this path on his own. His family had no idea that he had started any kind of training, he had refused the clan's offer years ago after all. That was another thing, his family didn't really care or even notice that he was gone for the day or even weeks at a time. All resources had been focused on Meredy to shape her into the magician that she was meant to be. Natsu had all been but forgotten over the course of the past year, and that fact really hurt him.

Ikaruga constantly had her military duties to attend to, Meredy was both so wrapped up in her training that they didn't have time to spend with him, and Virgo was also forced into increasing the amount of time training. Natsu was beginning to realize how lonely the path that he chose truly was.

He always found comfort in the sunset in Hargeon, it reminded him that no matter how bad things were right now, tomorrow was always another day with new opportunities ahead.

However, Natsu wasn't currently able to peacefully watch the sunset as the cries of a terrified child filled his ears. He looked over to the dock and noticed a beautiful young girl being dragged to a large ship by two men. She was slightly bleeding and her dress was torn in several places, obvious signs of a struggle.

Natsu frowned at this and decided to intervene. He was quite upset that the only place that he could find comfort was defiled by the presence of slave traders and needed to take it out on something, or rather someone in this case. There's also the fact that he had to save this girl.

Natsu quickly analyzed his surroundings by listening to the electrical sound waves that transversed the air to give him radar like abilities. He immediately concluded that there were only those two slave traders on the docks and the little girl trying to struggle out of their grasp. There was nobody on board the ship, which made Naruto realize that they were targeting this girl specifically.

He recognized one of the two men on the dock, Bora of Prominence, a well known magician who specializes in fire magic. With the end of World War Three, there were many criminals to be captured therefore any person familiar with the magic community will be well versed with the magicians who have rather large bounties on their heads. Bora of Prominence was one of the most well know slave traders throughout Asia. Natsu would be sure to deal with this man appropriately.

With all of Natsu's training in ninjutsu and taijutsu, speed was no longer an issue for him. He was very fast, even without magic. He quickly blurred out of sight and reappeared right before the two slave traders, surprising them in the process.

Before they could even react to his presence, Natsu reached both his arms back and activated his magic. **"[All-Killing Ash Lance]"** Natsu whispered as he gathered crimson flames within the palms of his hands and hurled them at the two men, after taking the forms of two long lances. The men couldn't even move a muscle before a lance made of fire impaled them each through the chest.

They screamed in utter agony as the lances began to deteriorate their bodies on a molecular level, rotting them and turning them into nothing more than a pile of ash. The screams soon ceased and the ashes that remained of them were blown away by the wind.

There was a reason that Natsu's practical magic ability was so low, he specialized in a single type of magic. He wasn't like the rest of the born specialists either, he was a superpower. A magician who didn't need any additional activation steps beyond thoughts and willing the magic itself. It was because of this that his already low ability with generic magic was deteriorating even more, he supposed it was a fair trade. He really was the black sheep.

Natsu looked down at the girl, who had her eyes tightly closed shut from fear from what was going to happen. She was breathtakingly beautiful. She looked only a few months younger than him, but she had a petite build, long wavy pale blonde hair, and pupil-less green eyes. At least from what he had seen of her so far.

"You can open your eyes now little girl." Natsu told the girl rather emotionlessly. From years of feeling unwanted and unloved, Natsu had slowly been stripped of his emotions. He had always desired love, whether it was familial or romantic didn't matter, but he had lost the ability to love a long time ago. It was ironic really. He chose the path of peace and love, and yet he is stripped of the only things that he desired in this world.

She let out a cute "eep" at his sudden voice, but she opened her eyes a moment later and was greeted with the sight before her. The two men who were dragging her were gone and a boy not much older than her was standing before her with an outstretched hand. He had mesmerizing rose-colored hair and piercing onyx eyes. She gladly took his hand as he helped her up.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly. He noted that she was quite short, even for a seven year-old.

The young girl in front of him could only nod. "My name is Mavis...who are you?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

"Mavis huh?...My name is Natsu Dragneel." The girl's eyes widened as if she had heard that name before. She immediately clung onto him for a reason that Natsu couldn't figure out, not matter how hard he thought about it.

"Thank you...thank you for saving me Natsu-san!" A soft melodic voice sounded wearily into Natsu's chest.

For some unknown reason, the girl refused to let go of the embrace, let alone leave his side.

Natsu could only sigh after realizing what he got himself into.

He was taken out of his musings a moment later when he heard a giggle behind him. When the rose-haired boy turned around, what he saw surprised him. Standing there in the moonlight was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and familiar pupil-less green eyes. Natsu had figured that Mavis was an orphan because of the way she was dressed and how nobody else was chasing after those men.

What Natsu took notice of was that she looked a bit sickly. She was doing her best to hide it, but it was obvious to a person like Natsu that she shouldn't even be out of bed or the hospital.

"What an adorable scene I've walked in on." The woman cooed teasingly. She tried to come off as a strong motherly tone, but if one paid enough attention then they would hear her words faltering with every phrase.

"Okaa-sama!" Mavis yelled as she leaped out of Natsu's arms and into the woman's, almost knocking her over.

Natsu watched the scene before him with a small smile on his face. This is what a family was supposed to look like. He wished that he could have something like that.

What he found strange though was that their auras almost mirrored each other, but yet, Mavis' aura felt so familiar to him. So much like his own.

Before he could analyze the girl before him any further, Mavis' mother spoke up.

"Thank you for helping my daughter..." The woman spoke to Natsu as she held her sleeping daughter in her arms. "...son of Loke."

Natsu's eyes widened slightly at her words as he turned around to ask what she meant, only to find her gone.

Could that girl have been...?

* * *

After that first encounter with Mavis and her mother, encountering them in Hargeon Town became something of a common occurrence for Natsu. After their first few chance meetings, they became quite close and now Natsu even came to Hargeon every other day to come and visit her. And she would be waiting for him.

Natsu was quite happy with their arrangement. It was odd, he hadn't felt happy in a long time. In fact he had thought that he was no longer capable of emotion, or perhaps that was just love. Whatever the case, Natsu could feel a piece of his broken heart being put back into place every time he came to see Mavis.

He preferred spending time with her as opposed to his sisters. They would always just brush him off or treat him as if his feelings didn't matter to them. Natsu began to ponder the relationships that he had with his siblings as a result.

Ikaruga and Natsu didn't have the same relationship that they once had. She was hardly ever around the compound anymore because of her duties with the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion and due to that, her and Natsu had barely spent any time together as a result. Another problem that Natsu had with her was that he knew that she was completely loyal to the clan.

Her faith in them would never waver and whatever they said was absolute. She wouldn't dare to disobey a single order or speak out a single time against them. Those old bags of flesh that were the clan elders were who she had given her entire life for and would continue to do so. It sickened Natsu and his respect for her had dropped considerably after seeing how she interacted with the elders.

What did hurt him was his relationship with his elder twin sister. Their relationship was slowly deteriorating with the amount of time she put into her studies and training. They had maybe spoken a handful of times together during the past year, the Dragneel clan took the training of young prodigies quite seriously. What was worse was that she was slowly but surely buying into the clan ideals, she had even begun to see him as pathetic and weak for not accepting his heritage and his birthright of magic.

All this was too much for Natsu to handle at home, so he began to spend more and more time with Mavis. He could honestly say that he adored this girl. She was only a few months younger than him yet she was so cheerful and childish. He had never interacted with a person like her before, at the clan compound everyone was so serious all the time, so it was a breath of fresh air for Natsu.

Though with all of the time that he spent with his new best friend, his suspicions were confirmed. The girl that he had grown so fond of was his little sister, the very sister that his father had refused to take responsibility for and abandoned.

Natsu didn't know what to think of this development. It didn't really change anything about his relationship with Mavis, she was his sister, but after so many years of neglect and abandonment by his own family, he didn't know how a real family interacted. Though he did hate his father even more now. Mavis was so pure and innocent, she was the perfect child and yet Loke had just thrown her away as if she was nothing more than trash.

He also made another discovery. The woman that his father had an affair with was none other than Layla Heartfilia, the wife of Jude Heartfilia and the head of the Heartfilia Konzern which was the biggest weapons manufacturing company in all of Japan. She was divorced and removed from the family due to the affair, the ladt time that she was ever seen was when she left the estate of the Heartfilia family while still pregnant.

Natsu wouldn't say anything about his relation to the two of them, at least not until they brought it up first. He was sure that Layla knew of their connection to one another, but he was still unsure about Mavis.

He would ponder the thought another time, for now he would just enjoy their company.

* * *

 **Age 8**

"So you new all along Natsu-kun?...I suspected as much..." Layla said softly as she lay in her hospital bed, with Mavis clinging onto her tightly.

Her time was up. It had been a year since they had first met...and this would be the last time. Layla laid there on the hospital bed as she began the last conversation she would ever have in her life.

She had been diagnosed with the disease just over a year ago, only months before they had met in fact. Even with the advanced medical equipment and technology that every hospital is equipped with, not a single doctor she had seen had been able to come up with a cure. They couldn't even figure out what exactly was going on with her body. She was suffering from a syndrome that kills a magician from the inside by slowly causing their magic to collapse inwardly. For such a thing to happen was a one in a trillion possibility. Layla had some damn bad luck.

Layla was told that she would die today and should say her goodbyes to her family. She wasn't even supposed to last a week after being diagnosed, but had lasted over a year with pure willpower alone. She was quite a woman.

After complex research being done on her body over such a long period of time they had managed to create an anti-body for the disease using Layla's DNA, but since it was using her as a base it wouldn't be able to cure her. Only the next person who contracts it.

"I've had my suspicions since the first time we met and came to that very same conclusion not long after...you know...you were like the mother I never had." Natsu whispered solemnly. Over the course of the year, Natsu and Layla had grown quite close. She had given him the love that he had always desired even when his own family wouldn't. She was his family. Her and Mavis were his everything, his world.

Many would consider the entire situation the result of a single sin. Layla's affair with Loke was the beginning. Layla's pregnancy and Mavis' birth would be the next sin. And now her suffering was her punishment.

Natsu refused to think this way. The act may have been a sin, but their lives would never be.

Tears began to form in the corners of her eyes and flow freely down her face. "I-I.., never thought I would hear... those words coming from you...I thought that you would hate me and... never want anything to do with me once you found out...if that really happened it would've broken my heart."

It was true that Natsu hated his father with a passion, but he could never even think of hurting Layla. He loved his real mother dearly, but this was the woman who was always there for him when nobody else was. She was one of the few people to show that his life had meant something. To him, she was irreplaceable.

"I could never hurt my Kaa-chan...or my precious imouto..." Now both Layla and Mavis were freely sobbing. This had been the first time that he had called Layla his mother and Mavis his sister. For someone who had been closed of to love his whole life, him saying these words so tenderly was more than they could currently handle.

"Okaa-sama! Please don't leave us!" Mavis cried hysterically, her eyes pleading towards her mother. "We can finally be a real family...Onii-san can stay with us and we can have the family that we never had with the Heartfilias!"

Layla stroked her daughters hair affectionately, weakly but affectionately nonetheless. Her hand was shaking uncontrollably, she was getting weaker by the minute. She would be leaving this world soon, there was no way around that.

"Don't cry for me sweetheart...I've lived a good happy life... You were the best thing that ever happened to me, dear. You and Natsu-kun both...you two were the children I had always wanted...you gave me the one desire I always wanted...a family..." Layla told her daughter weakly.

Natsu clenched his hands into a fist, trying to draw blood but the wounds were instantly regenerated by blue flames. He was doing whatever he could to hold back his tears. He couldn't let Layla or Mavis see him crying, he needed to be strong for them. Especially now.

Layla held onto her daughter as tightly as she could at the moment before looking up at Natsu. "Natsu-kun...can I trust you to take care of her?...she doesn't have anyone else to turn to..."

"Of course...she's my imouto after all...my clan and your family may abandon their family the first chance they get, but I don't...I will protect Mavis until the day I die and even after then...I will never abandon my family." Natsu stated firmly. He would not turn out like his father or the rest of his clan. Family was one of the only things he still valued in life...and Mavis was now the only family he had left. And He was the only family that she would have soon enough.

The Heartfilia family would never acknowledge Mavis as a part of their family. It would mean acknowledging another heir to their company and their fortune. The Heartfilia family already had a single heiress and that was Lucy Heartfilia, the daughter of Jude Heartfilia and his first wife.

The man had a previous wife before he was married with Layla. Sadly, she died of disease several years after she gave birth to Lucy. Jude had been deeply in love with her and never really got over her death, he only remarried for political reasons. Natsu hated politicians. Because of the circumstances of their marriage Layla never received any love or attention from her husband, which drove her to find love elsewhere resulting in her affair with Loke Dragneel.

The Heartfilia family would never want anything to do with Mavis, therefore they were out of the question.

The Dragneel clan was one of the most prestigious clans in all of Japan. Admitting that the son of the clan head had an affair with a woman from another family would bring great shame and dishonor to the clan, and the clan elders would not accept that. All of their lives were devoted to the clan after all.

Not that Natsu would ever let Mavis near that clan. Hell, Natsu was a member and he didn't even want to be near that clan. He would not have Mavis turn into one of their puppets like Ikaruga or any of his other siblings. He would not force her into a clan in which her own father would never accept responsibility for her. To Natsu, the Dragneel clan was the scum of the earth.

That left him. He would be the one to have to take responsibility for the sins of his father, not that he would ever see Mavis as a sin. The act that made her may have been a sin to some, but her life was a gift from an angel. She was his little sister, and he would treat her as such. She was the one who brought back his emotions...his ability to love. For that he was forever grateful.

"Okaa-sama!" Mavis cried even harder, sensing that her mother's time was almost up.

"Please listen to me Mavis...my time is almost up." Layla spoke softly. "I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I was never the perfect mother...I tried my hardest but I know that you deserve better than me, perhaps Natsu-kun will be able to give that to you...I'm sorry that I couldn't give you the life that you deserve. You're an angel, my darling, and you deserve to be treated like one. But most of all, I'm sorry for never telling you the truth about your relationship to Natsu-kun...I hope that you'll be able to forgive me."

Mavis clung onto her mother tighter, as if to never let her leave her small arms.

"Mavis...Natsu..." She called out one last time. "I once had a dream. In that dream we were all a family...a real family, blood-related and all...we were all so happy...if I sleep right now, do you think I would have the same dream?" She asked in a hopeful tone.

Natsu did his best to hold back his tears, but it wasn't enough. "Rest Kaa-chan...you've fought so hard this past year...you have suffered enough, now it is time for you to sleep." Natsu answered between tears.

Layla smiled at his words before her eyelids became heavy and she closed them for the final time.

It was time for her long deserved rest.

* * *

"These are some pretty deep issues you got yourself involved in. Trouble always did have its way of finding you Natsu." A man with azure hair and a red tattoo over his right eye in his late twenties commented to his student.

After the events that had transpired the previous day, Natsu needed to bring Mavis to a place where he knew nobody would ever find her. The temple where he learned ancient magic at would do well enough for the time being.

"Will you be able to hide her here for the time being?" Natsu asked his sensei. "I will only need you to care for her until I make arrangements for a permanent home. It should take me two months at the most.

"How exactly will you provide for her?" Mystogan asked seriously. "You may be a member of the Dragneel clan, but you won't be able to use their funds without them noticing."

Natsu pulled a thick book from the inside of his coat and placed it on the table between them.

"The advantage of having a family who doesn't give a damn about your existence. I could disappear for over a month and they still wouldn't realize I'm missing." Natsu said with a sad smile on his face.

Mystogan glanced at the book on the table and let out a small sigh. "You do know what you're doing right? By taking care of this child you'll be going against your clan and the Heartfilia family if they find out. They will do whatever they can to get rid of her for good."

"She's my little sister. She's all that I have left in this world, I'm not letting her die just yet...besides, I'm all that she has left."

"Are you willing to abandon everything that you believe in to care for your sister?" Mystogan asked, curious as to whether or not his student would be able to follow through with his promises.

"My magic is one that was always meant to kill...I was only putting off the inevitable. And I will always hold onto the one belief that I've had throughout my life... I don't abandon family...and she's the only family that I have left."

* * *

 **Age 9**

Why is it that all of the bounties that he had to hunt for were weak businessmen or politicians. Natsu hadn't had a good fight in ages, something he had been craving for a long time now. In his year-long career as a bounty hunter, there have only been a handful of mages who had really given him a challenge. This was a sad fact because Natsu was nowhere near close to mastering his magic.

Ha had still yet to understand why he possessed his particular magic. He had come to an assumption of what its potential could be, but he had yet to understand the depths of his magic and why some kind of primal instincts were brought brought out in the heat of those intense battles.

He had grown far more skilled in using his fire. It puzzled Natsu as to why he had been born with the exact magic that he had. Most magic is inherited by genetics, and not a single member of the Dragneel clan uses fire based magic besides his grandfather, Igneel.

Not even Igneel had the ability to use the same magic as him or anything remotely close to it though. Many of the members of his clan had an innate form of magic that they specialized in, such as Meredy's **[Maguilty Sense]** or Ikaruga's **[Senbonzakura]**. Natsu was the only magician in the long history of the Dragneel clan to possess a superpower. Not even a born specialist had ever been born into the clan before.

Natsu had finally been able to experiment with the capabilities with his superpower as well, and when he did the maps had to be redrawn. His abilities were far more than just being able to produce and control fire. Needless to say, he had to train that magic a lot so he wouldn't wind up collapsing an entire mountain again. Natsu named the magic **[Calamity]** as with it he was essentially able to control and generate natural occurring elements and create natural disasters.

He would ponder that thought later as it appeared that his bounty had stopped running from him.

His opponents were two former soldiers and a politician wanted for his crimes during World War Three. The two soldiers had become know as the Vanish Brothers for their skill in teamwork, though there magic abilities were next to none. The both had bounties of 50,000 yen and the man that they were protecting had a bounty of 100,000 yen.

Because of World War Three, international relations had fallen apart. Each country was lucky to have a handful of allies now. The international monetary system had been abolished and a new one took its place. There was no worldwide agreement anymore, instead the relatively new system was a continental agreement.

The largest currency in Asia was the Japanese yen. All of Asia had adopted the Japanese monetary system because of how powerful the country's military is and how well developed their economy is.

The bounties that Natsu was currently hunting were considered fairly large sums of money in today's day and age.

The two men charged at Natsu, thinking that because of their superior physical strength and experience they would easily overwhelm him. They couldn't have been more wrong.

 **"[Piercing Lance]"** Natsu whispered before bringing his arms out to his sides and gathering crimson flames in the palms of his hands. His magic invocation speed was near instantaneous. The flames took the shape of two long lances as he hurled them at his targets, piercing their hearts and burning their insides in the process. The two men were dead before they his the ground.

This spell was a variation of Natsu's **[All-Killing Ash Lance]**. He had realized early on in his days as a bounty hunter that he couldn't turn his targets in for a bounty if they were nothing more than a pile of ash. That experience resulted in the development of this spell. It was very much the same spell, however it only pierced its targets and burned the innards surrounding the lance. It wouldn't completely deteriorate their bodies.

That was two down, now for the third.

Natsu slowly stalked past the lifeless bodies of the two brothers before coming face to face with the terrified form of politician who had fallen on his ass and was now crawling towards an abandoned building.

 **"[Chidori: Eisō]"** Lightning sparked to life around Natsu's hand. As he thrust his hand forward, the magic shaped into a long blade and pierced his target in between the eyes, pinning him to the building wall.

Natsu released his technique and created a net out of lightning to ensnare his now deceased targets and drag them to the nearest government office to receive his pay.

To support Mavis and his plans for the future, Natsu had become a bounty hunter just after Layla's death. That memory still brought a pain to his chest, but he pushed it aside knowing that she was in a better place now.

He had made enough money over the past year to support the two of them for a long time, but that wasn't enough. At least not yet. If the Dragneel and Heartfilia clans found about about Mavis before the were both old enough to take on whatever the clans sent their way, then they would need several contingency plans.

Natsu needed to prepare for what he knew would happen eventually. Not to mention that he rather enjoyed bounty hunting. Natsu had travelled all over the world to pursuit his targets and he had been through much during this past year. He had seen much of what the world was truly like and he now cursed his former ideal of wanting peace and normality.

In a world like their such a thing was impossible.

At least he wouldn't have to worry about losing his source of income. Asia had been at war with each other for almost twenty years now. The aftermath of World War Three wasn't what anyone had desired. After one war ended, another one started. It wasn't strange to find child soldiers wandering the battlefields or hunting for bounties.

Actually as far as child soldiers were concerned, Natsu was actually pretty old. Ikaruga had first stepped foot on the battlefield when she was six, Natsu was now nine. She had him beat by over two years. It appears that he would always be in the shadow of his sister, even on the battlefield.

One factor that Natsu was relieved about was that nobody from the Dragneel clan knew he was out there doing this. His father had never cared about any of his children so why start now, Ikaruga was still sent out to war with the 101st Independent Magic Equipped Battalion, and Meredy had gotten quite close to the children of the Strauss clan. They had been allies of the Dragneel clan since the end of World War Two.

The only one who concerned him was his grandfather. Igneel had always showed that he was displeased with how the clan elders treated the other members of the clan. He was also one of the only people who had paid any attention to Natsu, still he wouldn't put it past the old man to try something against Mavis.

Natsu noticed his grandfather looking at him suspiciously recently, he always pretended not to notice but he took note of it. He knew that Igneel wouldn't confront him about it. He would wait for Natsu to make his move.

He wanted to get home to Mavis.

She had been depressed for a few weeks after her mother's death, but she slowly began to return to her usual self after seeing how hard Natsu was working to make her happy. She had unrivaled talents in magic that not even Ikaruga could come close to. If she devoted herself to her training and studies then she could become one of the strongest mages in the country. With the people who would be after her, she would need to be.

One problem though is her control. She has so much magical power and psions constantly emitted from her that it is hard to control her magic. Until she gains enough control and experience, she won't be able to use her magic effectively. That would come in time though.

Natsu had been away from home for just over a month now. Fortunately the clan still expected nothing from him because of his low magic skills, therefore they concentrated all of their resources on Cosmos. Natsu couldn't help but chuckle at that. She was currently at the level that Ikaruga was at when she was four. But the clan was still hopeful that she would turn into a superior magician one day.

Because of this, Natsu could freely move around the continent without having to worry about someone realizing he was missing. If they hadn't been able to figure out that he spends about two days a week at the compound so far, then they wouldn't even know if he left the country. As a result, Natsu became a successful and infamous bounty hunter all throughout Asia over the course of a single year.

Even bounty hunters received bounties, it was kind of ironic. The last time Natsu checked, he had 400,000 yen on his head. A sign of how many bounties he's captured over the last year.

Due to his fame as one of the strongest child soldiers to ever emerge on the battlefield, Natsu was commonly called Havoc by those he ran into to the point where it became something of a codename for him. He supposed that it was because his **[Calamity]** spells caused such widespread destruction. He could get used to that name.

His attire consisted of a black, bullet-proof overcoat that reached down to his knees. Underneath was a skin-tight black short-sleeved shirt, black pants, and black combat boots. Along with his outfit, he wore a white porcelain mask with a purple lightning bolt painted over the eye and a red mouth.

The mask itself is a cad that casts a small illusion over the user. Engraving magic was used to create it and therefore magic can be stored in it, the same way that Mystogan stored magic in his staves, so that even a person with low magic ability could activate it.

The mask merely turned Natsu's hair black and distorted his voice when he wore it. On his hips were the holsters for two knives. The knives that he carried on him were dual bladed with a space in between the blades for combat against swords, and had an odd shaped hilt. One couldn't always rely on magic, he found that out the hard way.

He had always preferred hand to hand combat along with bladed combat as opposed to relying solely on magic. He found that most magicians were easily overwhelmed in close quarters fights because they had neglected their physical training in favor of magic training.

It was rare to find criminals with large bounties inside Japan, so he usually did his hunting abroad. He did most of his hunts in Asia, and there was only one issue with that, Asia is a war-zone right now and it has been ever since World War Three ended. Natsu had gotten drawn into their war on more than one occasion, he still had the scars to prove it.

Right now he was in Edolas, just north of Bangkok and one of the largest cities in the world.

Edolas, the most lawless city in all of Asia, and that was saying something. It was basically the home of most of the bounty heads, military deserters, slave traffickers, and whatever other criminals there were out there. The place was a worse warzone than the actual battlefields in Asia. Natsu had been here so many times that it felt like his second home.

Natsu had always been a patriot, so after seeing how corrupt the world really was, even Japan, he took it upon himself to eliminate several of the corrupt politicians that he didn't particularly like. They were involved in things like prostitution rings, slavery, the possession of sorcery boosters, and so on. But he mainly killed them because he didn't like them, he was doing Japan a favor after all. Because of this, he's known as a notorious criminal in his own home country.

They even sent some of their best magicians after him to prove a point, namely Ikaruga and the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. At least they were spending more time together now, though she had no idea of course. It says something about a family when you have to become an international criminal to have some quality family time.

* * *

"I must be cursed..." Natsu said to himself as he stood face to face with Ikaruga and several other members of the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion in downtown Edolas. He had just gotten out of the government office and received the bounty from his most recent hunt and out of every single person in the world, he came face to face, well face to mask, with his older sister.

Apparently their entire battalion were temporarily in Edolas for resupply before heading back to the battlefield. God knows they could be doing better things than chasing after him. Natsu stared at her for a few moments before he booked it, with her right on his tail, sword drawn.

One unique thing about Ikaruga was that her sword, Mugetsu-Ryu, acted as her CAD. She normally wielded her innate magic **[Senbonzakura]** with her **[Sword Magic]** as support. Though she knew many varieties of magic, these two were her favorite and he knew just how to combat them.

"I will be the one to judge you for your crimes against Japan! You may have been on the run for as long as you have liked, but you will face your sins here and now!" Ikaruga shouted as she sent several arcs of razor sharp cherry blossoms at Natsu just by swinging her sword.

The streets had long since cleared with all of the killing intent that had flooded the area. Natsu swiftly dodged each wave of cherry blossoms as he quickly maneuvered his way through the narrow streets and alleys out of the city.

"I did all of that over a year ago and you're still after me for it?" Natsu yelled as they were now in a wide open area. "Don't you have something better to do than chase a lone bounty hunter, like I don't know, maybe fight a war?" Natsu suggested as he jumped high into the air to avoid a tsunami of cherry blossoms.

That was a mistake as Ikaruga activated her **[Sword Magic]** and sent a large crescent wave of magic at him. Natsu took this as his opportunity to get the hell out of the area by turning his body into lightning and seemingly teleporting away in a flash of lightning.

That was one of the perks about **[Calamity]**. With his control over lightning, it had actually become one of his two preferred elements, he could instantly turn his body into the element and transverse vast distances by moving at high speeds. When he uses this particular application, it appears as if he used a spell to instantly teleport himself away.

Ikaruga cursed to herself after witnessing the boy she had been pursuing for over a year now escape. One day she would catch him and see who was under that mask.

* * *

 **Age 10**

Natsu couldn't help but see the irony in the situation. He was chained to a wall alongside his twin sister Meredy, Lisanna Strauss, and Elfman Strauss. Natsu had been a bounty hunter for over two years, killed thousands of people, entered a war-zone of his own free will several times per week, and so much more. And yet, he is 'kidnapped' on one of the few days he is in his own country.

"You know this really isn't so bad...much better than going to that boring elementary school...I really did expect worse to happen from being kidnapped." Natsu stated. They had been kidnapped while they were on their way to school. One of the few days of the week that Natsu actually went to school and the first time he had ever walked with his sister and the Strauss siblings.

He didn't really like the Strauss children very much. The eldest daughter, Mirajane, he got along well enough with and the youngest daughter, Yukino, was good company. But Natsu found the middle two a bit...overbearing. Lisanna was kind of snobby and just annoying in general, she was your typical princess character. And Elfman had this weird obsession about being a man.

This would be a long day. Natsu could get them all out of there right now, but that would mean having to show his prowess with magic to them and that would cause more trouble than it was worth.

"This isn't a joke Natsu." Meredy snapped as she tried to loosen her shackles."

"Will you two stop arguing for just a few minutes." Lisanna asked them sternly. "They can't do anything to us anyway, our clans would make sure they wouldn't harm us in any way. They need us unharmed is they want a ransom anyway."

Natsu could only roll his eyes at her usual attitude. She didn't quite understand that they didn't really have any rights at the moment and kidnappers generally didn't follow the law.

"Everyone relax. I'm a man and therefore I will get us out of here! What we need to do..." Elfman tried to say before he was cut off.

"What you need to do is shut up..." Natsu was tired of these idiots and their holier than thou attitudes. "Just sit there and wait there to be rescued like a good prisoner would."

"Stop insulting Onii-chan..." Lisanna snapped at Natsu, she continued to scold him for the next few minutes but he wasn't listening. He was listening to the electrical sound waves in the air.

Using his radar-like magical ability, he analyzed his surroundings and found the bioelectrical signals of about forty people. Most notable though was a signature that he recognized quite well.

Jose Porla, a man who he was formerly a member of the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion and quite well acquainted with Ikaruga. It seemed that he had finally turned against the government and was proving his strength by waging war with the Dragneel and Strauss clans. He had always been a fool and his current actions didn't surprise Natsu, but he was always too arrogant for his own good. Natsu may not have liked either of the two clans, but they were stronger than the man could handle.

Natsu should have ended this man long ago, the only reason that he was still alive because he was a member of Japan's military. He always had a dark aura around him, Natsu believed that he had been secretly using sorcery boosters, a means to boost your own magic by using induction stones made from the neurons of living creatures. Such a thing was banned all throughout Japan because of the ethical issues that come with their use. Without the sorcery boosters, Jose was no better than an average mage.

He had heard rumors that a member of Japan's elite forces had turned against the country and formed the organization know as Phantom Lord, but Natsu hadn't paid any attention to it until now.

Natsu broke himself from his thoughts, only to hear that Lisanna was still yelling at him.

"Hey princess, why don't you take a breather for a while and pay attention to the current situation." Lisanna stopped her rant to give him a glare. "Good...now do any of you have your CADs on you?" He received a negative shake of the head from all of them. "Then we don't have a choice but to wait."

"Stop acting like a coward Natsu! Act like a man!" Kami, this muscle-bound idiot was really starting to try his patience.

"Why don't you take a look at the situation. All four of us are chained to a wall, none of you have your CADs, there are about forty people in this compound who are waiting for our clans to contact them. We don't really have a choice but to wait."

"Why do you seem to think that the clan is searching for us right now? We're supposed to be at school!" Meredy all but yelled at Natsu.

He could only sigh. You would think that a clan heiress would know these things.

"If none of you know this, it is clan law to place transmitters into the CADs of prominent clan children...I know for a fact that the Dragneel clan has them in your CAD, Meredy. If the transmitter is taken out of a one-hundred yard radius of you or is off your person for over an hour than said clan is notified immediately." Natsu stated to the three obviously unaware mages. "It has been over an hour, so they should track us down pretty soon."

Though it seemed as if luck wasn't on their side today. The door to the room was slowly opened and four men walked in. Natsu watched them free Meredy, Lisanna, and Elfman from there shackles and lead them out of the room. The one holding the handgun that Natsu usually keep on him stayed behind.

Natsu looked up as he saw the man pointing the gun right at his head.

"Any last words?" The man asked mockingly.

Natsu smirked a little. "Yeah a few. Enjoy your last few moments alive because I'll be killing everyone in this compound."

After those words were spoken the man fired a bullet that was meant to pierce Natsu's skull, but before they could even reach his skin, incredible powerful vibrations were sent through the air, shattering the bullets completely. The man didn't even have time to react as Natsu quickly expelled vibrations from every part of his body, shattering his chains immediately.

Faster than the man could follow, Natsu dropped to the ground and sliced off his head with a mere swipe of his hand by creating a highly pressurized blade of wind. Natsu cracked his neck and rubbed his wrists where the skin had become raw, the position he was chained in was rather uncomfortable.

He picked up his handgun and activated the engraving magic that it was made with, aligning it to his magic. The gun was given to him by Mystogan-sensei and was meant to fire highly compressed bullets made of his flames. It was quite a useful sidearm for purposes such as this when it would be beneficial not to reveal his magic.

Natsu walked out of the room and began firing upon each and every person he saw. He was simultaneously listening to the electrical sound waves to find out where his next victims would come from and where they had taken his companions. He finally found them as he fired another super-heated bullet right between a man's eyes. This beat a day at school by a long shot.

In all his time as a bounty hunter he had grown accustomed to killing. The fist time that he had ever killed a person is when he had saved Mavis from being kidnapped. He much preferred finishing them off permanently as compared to granting them mercy. When they were gone for good, you didn't have to worry about them coming after you for vengeance. He learned that the hard way. Natsu could only laugh at his previous pacifistic ways as he looked behind him to see the trail of bodies he had left in the hallway.

* * *

The fallout of that incident had been nowhere near pretty. When the Dragneel and Strauss clan foot soldiers arrived on the scene, it wasn't what they had expected. The entire compound was filled with bullet holes, not even the concrete bunkers were spared from that fate. All in all, the place looked like a war-zone.

Natsu had been upset that Ikaruga got to Jose before he could, but he was content with the little entertainment he received.

Ikaruga had been tasked with hunting down Jose since the government knew that he was still in Japan. She managed to track him down to the compound, but realized that she had had accidentally come across the kidnapping incident when she walked into a hallway with a pile of dead bodies and Natsu standing on top of it.

After that particular incident, Naruto's relationship with his sister and the Strauss family changed almost instantly.

Mirajane and Yukino had been eternally grateful to him for saving Lisanna and Elfman, their clan heads as well. But as for the two, whose lives he saved...they were less than enthusiastic about being in his presence. All prior feelings of superiority were gone, they looked at him with nothing other than fear in their eyes.

Natsu enjoyed that slightly. He was used to having soldiers and criminals running from him as Havoc, but for them to be treating Natsu this way was something he was unfamiliar with. It didn't really bother him that they refused to talk to him or even be near him a school anymore, he never liked the two of them much anyway.

What bothered him was his relationship with Meredy. She still avoided him, no change there. But what he did notice was that she was doing it by choice now instead of convenience. He had a small expectation that she would attend all those therapy sessions that he was forced into with him or that she would at least thank him for saving her life.

He supposed he should have expected this. Natsu could see the fear that she tried to hide in her eyes. He was a bounty hunter with a million yen bounty on his head, you didn't get that good without being able to read people.

She was acting the same way that Lisanna and Elfman were, and that disappointed him.

Meredy had been trained by the Dragneel clan for years now, he had at least expected her to be open to the idea of death and killing, but it seemed as if she still held onto childish and naïve ideals.

This was a clan meant for war. She would have to realize that sooner or later.

What Natsu found strange was that his heart would hurt every time she had the chance to even be near him, she would go out of her way to avoid him completely. He thought that Mavis was his only family now? Why did he still care for what his sisters thought of him?

* * *

 **Age 12**

It had been almost two years. Natsu was twelve now. Its been almost two year since Meredy had even spoken a word to him. He had thought that being siblings granted you unconditional love...he was wrong. That kidnapping incident a year ago made Natsu realize how much he really meant to his siblings. Through this year they had shown just how much family meant to the Dragneel clan.

Meredy hated him for the fact that she thought he was a cold-blooded killer. She wasn't wrong, but she was still ignorant of the harsh realities of the world. Ikaruga didn't even try to console him after she witnessed him kill for what she probably thought for the first time, she was becoming more and more emotionless as the years went on. Walking onto the battlefield as a child warped her view on the world and now she died a little on the inside every time she did, it was becoming hard to watch. Igneel could tell that Natsu was getting fed up with the clan, but he didn't say anything. He would wait until Natsu made his move.

It hurt Natsu to know that family had meant so little to these people. He hid his pain, but Mavis could always see it.

She was his comfort. Natsu would always visit the apartment that he rented for her when he was feeling lonely or depressed. Sometimes he curse her and Layla or bringing back his emotions.

He loved her, he truly did. She was his only little sister, his only family left.

Natsu spend most of his time now with Mavis. Whether it was home-schooling her, helping her with her magic studies and practical applications, going out to eat, or even spending the night in each other's arms. Natsu and her were always together now.

She loved the fact that he was always with her now. That those foolish women were off his mind and he could finally focus on her.

She knew it was a selfish thought, but he was always gone for his job and then he needed to make appearances at the clan compound. Now he would come straight home to her arms and she would comfort him.

"Mavis..." He said to get her attention from within his arms.

"Hm? What is it Onii-sama?"

"I have a feeling that I won't have to put up with this charade of being a member of the Dragneel clan much longer." Natsu stated as he stroked her long blonde hair.

This statement shocked Mavis. She looked up at him with hope in her eyes. She had always wanted to move away from this city, at least for now. She couldn't fully train her magic abilities in the small apartment that her brother had gotten from her. She also wanted to get away from all this clan business and just be with her Onii-sama.

"Does that mean..." He knew what she was implying.

He chuckled slightly at her actions. She was acting so shy when usually she was so energetic and childish.

"Yes, away from the clan. Away from this city. And away from everything. I've saved enough money to move anywhere in the country and live comfortably for the rest of our lives, but I feel as if that would be boring. We'll move away until high school. You'll need to go to a magic high school if you want to take an occupation in the magic world. I don't want you to ever have to do what I do."

Mavis nodded at his words. Her Onii-sama was always right. She clenched onto his tank top even tighter, revealing many of his scars, scars that he received for her sake. He put his life on the line so many times just to give her a better life. He really was the best.

"Where will we go?" She asked, snuggling into his chest even more.

Natsu pondered his thoughts for a moment, "I was thinking Magnolia Town. Its a long way from here, there's plenty of space to practice your magic, and its quite beautiful. I think it would be a perfect place for us to start our new life."

"When will we move there?"

Natsu sighed, "The clan elders have proposed a marriage contract between the heir of the Groh clan and Ikaruga, a man by the name of Bacchus. He's pretty much typical nobility, nothing more than scum. I've run into him a bit during my days as a bounty hunter and he would sooner sacrifice his own comrades to guarantee his own safety than fight along side them. I know this, Ikaruga knows this, and I'm sure the clan elders no this. However, the clan is quite wealthy and prominent in both modern and ancient magic. Her answer to their proposal will decide when we will leave. I won't sit by and watch as she lives out her life as a puppet for the clan."

Only time will tell what will come in the upcoming months.

* * *

It was January of 2091 and Natsu received his answer

"We would like to present to you all, Bacchus Groh of the Groh clan, and now an adopted child of the Dragneel clan. He is also the fiancé of the first daughter of the Dragneel clan, Ikaruga Dragneel!"

There was a loud applause from members of both of the clans as the official announcement was made. A man in his late twenties stood up and gave a bow to the audience. Natsu barely recognized this man, he usually only saw his back as he threw his subordinates in the line of fire to quickly make his escape. He couldn't count how many times he abandoned his post to save himself. And it was always Natsu who was left to save the lives of those men. The man before Natsu was pathetic beyond belief.

It seemed that Ikaruga couldn't even keep one promise.

She had promised Natsu not even a full month ago that she wouldn't give into the pressure that the clan was putting on her to accept the marriage proposal. She promised that she would never let the clan marry her off to some random man just because he comes from a prominent clan.

Natsu had wanted to believe these words, he really did, but he knew better than to trust a woman who valued the clan over herself. That's why the official answer he just received didn't surprise him in the slightest.

Even though clan laws stated that the clan cannot accept an arranged marriage unless the two people involved agree with the arrangement, she would marry anybody that the clan chose for her. To her, the clan was absolute and her life was theirs to do whatever they pleased with it.

These kind of views on life sickened Natsu.

What was the hardest thing for Natsu to deal with was that Ikaruga had allowed herself to be used like this. She was one of the most powerful mages of this generation, the most talented magic technician in the Dragneel clan, the strongest child soldier to step foot on the battlefield before him. And here she was not even trying to stand out against what she knew what would be the biggest mistake in her life.

She would never do that, because everything is for the clan. It was at this very moment that Natsu lost all respect that he had for Ikaruga. Powerful mage or not, these were the actions of someone who had thrown her life away.

This was the final straw. he clan's last chance for redemption. The final chance that he would give his family. But it seemed as if it was all for naught, they would continue to be nothing more than pawns for a clan that would throw them away when they were no longer useful.

Natsu has had enough of being a part of their puppet show.

Natsu closed his eyes and slowly left the main hall, not even looking back to see her following him.

He had an appointment with the clan elders, this would be a perfect time to arrange something with them since his grandfather was dealing with the official announcement and the party that followed. It was a miracle that they had even agreed to see him.

"I had assumed that you would have been supportive of the decision that I made." Natsu stopped mid-step, not even bothering to turn around or open his eyes. He could hear and see everything he needed to with his magic. He knew it was Ikaruga and he knew that she had been following him. They had made it quite a ways away from the main hall and were now in the courtyard.

"Supportive or not...I already got the answers I was looking for." Natsu spoke calmly. He should have felt angry or betrayed right now, but strangely enough, he felt nothing. Perhaps it was because he had no expectations from the woman behind him. The only one who could really understand him was Mavis and she was waiting for him.

Ikaruga let out a sigh. "You need to understand Natsu, this is for the clan..."

"...Yes of course it is." Natsu couldn't help but chuckle.

"We should go back. It wouldn't be good for the clan's image if either of us were to miss the party." Ikaruga suggested emotionlessly. She had just signed her life away to the clan and to a man who would never respect her as a woman and she was perfectly calm about it.

Natsu brought his right arm up and waved to her over his right shoulder, "Sorry, but I already have prior engagements. I just came here looking for an answer as to what I should do..."

"What answer? I know you didn't want me to get married to that man, but I am doing this for the clan, no more no less. I am marrying him because our clan will benefit from our union." Ikaruga stated firmly.

"...Whatever...What you think you are doing this for makes no difference to me...Goodbye Ikagura" Natsu continued to walk away from her and to his desired location, leaving his confused sister in the courtyard.

This would be the day that marked his end as a Dragneel.

* * *

Natsu had just finished his final conversation with Ikaruga and was ready to get his arrangements with the elders taken care of, he couldn't wait to never see their wrinkled faces again in his life. He wanted them to want to kick him out so he might as well go all out this one time.

Natsu barged in without knocking into the council chambers where the elders were always found. Before him sat two old men and one old woman behind a large wooden desk, similar to the ones that could still be found in courtrooms.

He eyed each of them carefully, he wanted to make a show of this but he didn't want to have to deal with any assassins that they sent after him. He would need to walk a very fine line in these next few minutes.

"Has the clan taught you nothing at all? You should at least know proper manners at this point, even for a failure such as yourself!" The woman yelled at Natsu as he stepped before them.

Natsu didn't really seem to care what she thought as continued to pick at his ear. "Jeez could you keep it down, I think you ruptured my eardrum with that last screech." Natsu stated mockingly.

"Enough of your insolence! You are even lucky that we considered letting you make an appointment with us! Normally we would have refused since it is most likely of no importance, but we chose to humor you just this once." One of the men stated, trying to inform Natsu that he would never get another opportunity like this one.

Natsu smirked at the old man, "Straight to the point I see...well what I wanted to discuss was an arrangement that would make both you and me much happier."

"What could you possibly say that would make it worth our time?" The final elder asked.

These were the elders that manipulated the entire Dragneel clan. These were the people that Ikaruga was so loyal to? How pathetic, they are nothing more than politicians and mages who were long since past their prime. What made the clan so loyal to them? Natsu just couldn't understand why most of his family treated these withered, old bags of flesh like they were God.

"I was getting to that...I would like to denounce myself from the Dragneel clan."

All three elders looked at him with shock, and a bit of relief. They had tried to kick him out of the clan several times when he was a child, but those attempts were all thwarted by Igneel.

"It is no secret that you do not like me and that I do not like any of you...you elders have even tried to remove me from the clan several times before. Why don't we just skip all this political bullshit for once!" Natsu declared as he looked the elders straight in the eyes. "I am not like the rest of the clan, that much is obvious. My magical abilities are low, amazingly so...I would not be able to benefit the clan in any way whether it is as a mage, a soldier, a politician, or for a marriage. So why don't we stop doing this little dance and remove me from the clan?"

The three elders really wanted to go along with his plan. Natsu Dragneel was an embarrassment to the Dragneel clan. He had no skill with magic whatsoever, his tendency to use crude language and be so disrespectful proved he could never make it as a politician, magic is largely determined by genetics so no respectable clan would want him to be married to an heiress. He would never be successful in the Dragneel clan and they knew it. But there was still one thing that bothered them.

What was his aim? After all these years, why choose to do this now? Why had he not just let them kick him out when he was younger if he felt this way?

"What is your goal in all of this _Natsu_?" One of the men growled. "Why choose to do all of this now?"

He spoke for all of the elders with those questions. As much as they disliked the boy, they were curious as to what his motives were.

"I suppose I don't really have a goal...If anything, the recent engagement of Ikaruga-nee and Bacchus-san was what solidified my decision. It made me realize that if a prominent member of our clan has to be married off eventually just for the clan's sake, then what will the future hold for me?" Natsu pondered out loud. "I'd prefer not to have to live my life for a clan that I hate and a clan that hates me."

This line of thinking was understandable. Natsu had never been a person who was completely loyal to the clan. Try as they might, the elders were unsuccessful in forcing him to become one of their foot soldiers by Igneel, who wanted to let the boy find his own path in life.

One of the elder's eyes widened at what she thought he was plotting, "You plan to leave with you're inheritance don't you!" She yelled. "You are a member of the main family and thus, even though you are not the heir, have a large sum of money in their account. Money that is meant to always support the Dragneel clan!"

Natsu could only roll his eyes at what the woman had come up with. If she was at all familiar with the clan law, then she would have known that such a thing was impossible.

Natsu shook his head. "I have no desire for any of the money. In fact once you strip me as an official member of the clan, all of the money is transferred right back into the Dragneel clan's account as a whole...I have no alternate agenda, all I want is my freedom." Natsu stated firmly.

The elders thought about his declaration for a moment before looking at each other and nodding their heads. The elderly man sitting on the middle of the three spoke up to voice their final decision.

"Very well Natsu Dragneel. By accordance to your request and the unanimous decision of the Dragneel clan's three elders, you are hereby relieved of the Dragneel name. Because of your status of a member of the main family, the only records of you ever existing are within these walls and will be disposed of by the end of the day. It is up to you what identity you will hold once you leave the compound walls, but you must never associate yourself with the clan from this day onward."

They had believed that Natsu didn't hold any sensitive information of the clan, so they weren't going to bother with terminating him. If they had done so, Igneel would surely kill them once he found out as opposed to what he would do once he found out his grandson had been banished.

Natsu could only smirk. The plan that he had been working on for years was finally being put into action. He would no longer have to worry about keeping up appearances for the clan, nor would he have to be particularly worried about them finding out about Mavis. He had been playing a dangerous game these last four years.

"I have one final request...it would be best for the both of us if my grandfather didn't know about this decision until after I have left the city completely. I should be none of your concern by the week's end. It would do no good for either of us if he sends his subordinates to drag me back here."

The man who had just spoken made his decision known once again, "Very well, we shall comply with this final wish as it would benefit us as well."

Natsu gave a slight bow to them before taking his leave. Merely being in the presence of those three made them sick. Though he would leave them with a parting gift. Natsu had gathered several files of all their under the table dealings and their rather unethical ways of doing business, he would make sure to leave those in his grandfather's office before leaving the compound for good.

They were finally free.

* * *

Natsu breathed a sigh of relief as he stepped into the apartment that he had been renting out for Mavis. It had been a long day, but currently there was no time to rest. Preparations and contingency plans had to be made.

He stepped out from the doorway and saw Mavis waiting for him there excitedly. She looked just like a puppy waiting for their master to come home at the moment, Natsu swore that if she had a tail it would be wagging right now.

With those current thoughts in mind, Natsu lifted his hand up and began petting her behind the ear. He could hear her purring as she leaned further into his touch. Mavis could be quite adorable at times.

Natsu withdrew his hand from her head, earning a moan of disappointment from said girl.

"Mavis...why don't we get things prepared for our journey to our new home?" Natsu suggested, knowing this would pique her interest.

As expected, Mavis perked up at what her brother had said. "Onii-sama! Does this mean we're finally moving? That we can finally act like a real family?" Mavis questioned, hope easily detectable in her eyes.

Natsu offered his little sister a small smile and led her into her room. They didn't have much to pack once he thought about it. He had always wanted to shower his precious little sister with gifts, but she had adamantly stated that she only needed the essentials. Food, clothes, CADs, there wasn't much else other than the basics.

Normally for two children, there would be toys, coloring books, manga, games, and such scattered all over the house, but these two weren't normal by any means of the word. Mavis had always lived on the bare essentials, her mother and her had lived for so long just living off what they could manage and she had grown accustomed to that life style. Natsu was a bounty hunter, he knew all too well that everything could go wrong in the blink of an eye and they would need to get out of there fast. Living that kind of lifestyle made him only keep what was necessary in the apartment, anything else they could just buy on the run.

"Yes." Natsu answered his little sister as he gently stroked her hair. "I've already made the necessary arrangements for our travels and our new home, all we need to do is pack up what we need and get out of the city...With my magic, we could make it there in about an hour...two hours at the most."

They could easily gather everything that they needed by the end of the day. He had told the elders that he would be out of the city at the end of the week, but that was only to throw them off in case Igneel had found out earlier than expected.

Mavis escaped his grip and gave a wide smile while flashing a peace sign at him. "I had expected this did to come sooner than expected, so I've been packed since our conversation about this a few months ago!" Mavis exclaimed cheerfully.

Mavis was always so cheerful and carefree, it made Natsu smile that he was going to finally be able to give her the life that she deserved. She was his angel, the only light in the raging storm that was his heart. She had deserved better than him, better than what he had been able to give her. Now was the time to right all the wrongs he had made in the past and give her the life that she never have, he one that she didn't even know she wanted.

"If that's the case, then let me just grab my gear for bounty hunting and we'll be on our way. The rest can be replaced once we arrive in Magnolia." Natsu told the girl before making his way to his room.

Things were looking up for these two siblings.

* * *

Igneel was not pleased. He had never liked how the clan elders ran the clan. He may have been the clan head, but that didn't mean he was completely in charge, no he only held a small amount of power compared to the clan elders. They had fought in World War Three and shaped the clan into what it was today.

This was what made Igneel both proud and disappointed. He was proud that the Dragneel clan had come so far in terms of military might and political power, compared to where they started when he was only a boy. But the clan had changed drastically to obtain that power.

The Dragneel clan was first founded on the beliefs that family should always come first and that you should always fight to protect your home and your comrades. This mantra was overruled when the former clan heads came into power.

They were now the former clan heads because they were now dead.

It had been two days since the announcement of Ikaruga's engagement had taken place. Because of the documents that he had found on his desk, a clan meeting requiring the presence of every clan member was called. There he had announced what information the files had contained and their accusations against the clan elders.

Of course Igneel had verified each and every single piece of information in those files. He was astounded that he had never come across any of it before. He never trusted the clan elders with the way that they manipulated the clan to their liking, so he made sure to keep an eye on their actions and their bank accounts especially.

Those three old fools had been involved in everything from embezzlement to extortion to treason. Needless to say, after these revelations were made to the entire clan they were swiftly executed in front of the whole clan to see. It wasn't a clan meeting, it was an execution. Igneel had used them as an example to show that anyone who dared commit such heinous crimes in the name of the clan would be dealt with accordingly.

What really bothered him was that his own family had been absolutely devoted to their ideals. Ikaruga especially, he was very disappointed in his eldest granddaughter. The woman had undying loyalty to the clan's ideals and believed that what they said was absolute. She had been nothing more than a puppet for them for years, and the revelations that they were criminals shattered all her beliefs.

Igneel had also called off her engagement to Bacchus. He had never approved of that marriage, so he was glad that it was now void since it was set up by the now deceased clan elders. After digging into the man's military records, he was disgusted with what he had found. Even if the engagement hadn't been set up by the elders, it would have been called off after seeing what kind of man he was.

He would need to rebuild the clan from the ground up. There would be no more clan elders, no more political marriages, and it would have to be restored to the values that it was first built upon.

However, those thoughts were for another time. Right now there were more pressing issues. In his office stood Loke, Ikaruga, and Meredy, he had called him here because of his suspicions.

There was only one person who could have gotten their hands on that information, and that was Natsu. He knew the boy was more skilled then he let on and was far smarter and resourceful than anyone believed him to be.

Since the boy was eight he had been covered in a thick coat of bloodlust. He hid it well, too well. In fact, the only person who would be able to sense it in the Dragneel clan was Igneel, the clan's most powerful and experienced mage. He was suspicious , though he pushed it to the side.

It was only after the kidnapping incident when he was ten was he able to confirm his suspicions. Igneel had forced him to go to therapy sessions after he had killed all those men during his escape. He played the part of the traumatized child for the therapist, he had almost fooled Igneel too. Only because of the man's countless years of warfare was he able to see through Natsu's act. The boy was good.

Natsu hadn't been seen since he left Ikaruga's engagement party. He wasn't even at the clan meeting when all members were required to go. These developments troubled Igneel. He had expected the boy to wage war against the clan if anything, he could have used those documents as his proof. So why didn't he. Was this the move he had been planning for all these years?

Igneel was sure that he would get his answers from the four people in front of him, whether he liked the answer or not. He was certain that it would be the latter.

Well, he would most likely receive his answers from three of them. Ikaruga had seen better days, her skin was pale, her hair was a mess, there were bags under her eyes, and her eyes themselves were empty. What had happened the past few days had really broken her. Her beliefs in the clan were all that had mattered to her, now it was revealed that she was living her whole life based upon a lie. It would take some time for her to recover, if she ever did at all.

"Do any of you have any idea of why I have called you here today?" Igneel asked the four of them sternly.

"I believe that it would have something to do with the events that had transpired over the last few days." Meredy answered in her usual bland tone.

The girl shifted under her grandfather's gaze, "That would be partially correct...you are here to inform me about the whereabouts of Natsu Dragneel."

All three of them were confused by his statement. What did Natsu have to do with any of this?

"What does the boy have anything to do with this Tou-san?" Loke asked absentmindedly.

Igneel glared at his son. He was a huge disappointment, he would never condone such actions from his son. Igneel had known about the numerous affairs that Loke had over the years when he was still married and it sickened him. He was sure that he had taught his son better than that. Worst of all, he was a terrible father. Igneel had not once seen the man spend time with his children, he was always off trying to pick up women or spending time at a brothel.

"That boy is your son...you always have been a disappointment Loke, your attitude is why you were removed from consideration for the next clan head." Loke flinched at his father's tone. He never used that tone, he was always the kind old man now, that was the tone of voice he used back when he was one of the most dangerous mages in the country.

"To answer your question...Natsu is where the documents regarding the clan elders' crimes most likely originated from." Igneel spoke as he raised his hand in the air to stop Cosmos from speaking. "And before you ask, yes, I did check all the information in those files and they were all the truth. What I am concerned about now is his whereabouts."

All three of them were stunned into silence for a minute. Natsu had always been the outcast, the one without potential. They never really had any hopes for him, and yet he was able to uncover all of this...Just what was going on?

"I haven't seen him since he left the compound two days ago. He left in the middle of the engagement party and never came back. He said he already had prior engagements when I confronted him and then I saw him walking towards the council chambers...he did say something strange though..." Ikaruga spoke in a hollow tone.

"Go on."

Ikaruga sighed, "He said that he had already gotten the answers that he was looking for...I don't know what he meant by that, but it sounded like he had given up hope or that talking to me just wasn't worth it anymore." Ikaruga answered sadly. She had begun to see why Natsu and the clan heads had never seen eye to eye, and now she wished that she had listened to her little brother for all these years.

Igneel sighed as well. With those kind of words Natsu could have only meant one thing, he would need to check the archive of clan records to confirm his theory.

"All of you get out of my sight, I have much to think on."

With those words said, all three members left the room slightly confused as to what was going on.

Igneel had always known that Natsu was waiting for his family to prove him wrong, to show that they really did care about him. Ikaruga agreeing to an arranged marriage just because it was her duty for the clan to do so may have been the final push he needed.

Natsu Dragneel was no more.

* * *

"How are you liking Magnolia so far Mavis?" Natsu asked from his spot on the balcony.

It had taken them just under two hours to travel from Tokyo to Magnolia. That may not seem like much of a distance, but moving at Natsu's lightning speed for the entire two hours to get there really spoke for how much of a distance they had to cover.

Magnolia was located quite aways north of Sapporo in Hokkaido. It was a beautiful port town with canals for water flowing all throughout it, it was right on the ocean as well. It was beautiful, there were no skyscrapers anywhere in sight, there were mountains and forests surrounding the town, and the ocean view was beautiful.

It was so different from the areas where Natsu and Mavis had always lived, it was one of the reasons that Natsu chose to move here.

Natsu had bought quite a large estate right at the point where the forest and the ocean met. The house itself was rather modest, much to Mavis' delight. She had though that her brother would have bought a mansion just for the two of them, but knowing what kind of lifestyles they prefer he had bought a two story house along with plenty of the surrounding area.

The entire first floor of the house had four rooms in total. A luxurious kitchen, Natsu had always loved to cook, but rarely got the chance to. The living room. A bathroom. And a large library that was stocked wall to wall with books and scrolls that Natsu had found during his travels. He had always preferred real copies of books instead of reading off a terminal. Terminals could be tracked, if they needed to use such a thing, then there were plenty of the in town. The books and scrolls ranged from normal subjects such as math and history for her home-schooling, but there was also plenty of information on magic.

The types of magic ranged from ancient magic to ninjustu to modern magic and even further on. There were even tomes about mages who used magic efficiently before modern magic had been discovered. Even without the use of chants, staves, or talismans, there were magicians that were highly skilled, perhaps even more skilled than many of today's modern magicians.

Natsu had been studying these tomes extensively.

The second floor was entirely a bedroom, it was absolutely marvelous. There was a bathroom with a shower and there was a walk-in closet as well, but those were inside the room so it didn't count. There was only one bedroom in the entire house, Natsu had hired a team of contractors to remodel the house to his specifications. The two of them had always shared a single bed and always would. There was nothing wrong with that.

"It's perfect Onii-sama!" Mavis cheered from her spot on the bed. "I've never seen anything like it before! All of the major cities in Japan are so modernized and technologically advanced, but this town just has a serene and calm feel to it. I think that it's perfect for the two of us!"

Natsu gave her a small smile. He also chose this place because he knew she would love it. She was never one for the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. The streets were far too crowded and it always felt too busy, here they would be able to live peacefully for the time being and really begin on Mavis' training. Of course, he still had his duties as a bounty hunter.

He may have had enough money to live comfortably, but he couldn't afford to take it easy and get rusty. The country was still at war and needed to be able to give Mavis the life that she deserved, everything cost money in this world.

There was also the issue about their identities. Bounty hunters needed a wide range of skills if they wanted to survive, so Natsu had plenty of hacking and computer skills. Creating new identities fro the both of them shouldn't be too much of a problem, they never existed to the world in the first place anyway. He would set things up over the course of the next week.

Natsu offered her his usual smile, "I'm glad you like it because we'll be spending a lot of time here over the next few years...remember you need to go to a magic high school if you want to prove your worth to the world as a magician. To prove that everyone was wrong for denying you. The only other options are to become a soldier or do jobs that I do... I don't want you to have to become like me Mavis."

"Onii-sama! Don't belittle yourself like that! I know Onii-sama only became a bounty hunter for my sake when he didn't have to...it's my fault that you had to get so much blood on your hands..." Mavis was very thankful to her Onii-sama for going so far to give her a better life. She just wished that one day she would be able to return the favor.

Natsu made his way over to the bed from where he had been standing on the balcony. He began stroking her hair affectionately in an attempt to calme her down. He always did love it when she got so worked up for his sake, it made him feel wanted. He had always strived to feel some kind of affection in his life, mainly from his family, but it was only Mavis who gave him what he had always wanted. She gave him all that he would ever need.

"Ne, why don't we get to sleep? It's getting rather late and tomorrow we'll start your more intense training regimen now that we've been able to settle in and get used to the town. You'll need you rest." Natsu whispered in her ear as he lay her down under the covers and cuddled up next to her.

They may be living on their own now, but they were still twelve year olds.

"Mm...Good night Onii-sama." Mavis grumbled tiredly. It had been quite obvious to him that she had been exhausted from the day's events.

"Good night my imouto." Natsu whispered as he pulled her in closer to him as the drifted off to sleep.

It was the beginning of their new life.

* * *

 **Age 13**

It was the year 2092. Natsu and Mavis had been living in Magnolia for just over a year now. Her training was coming along quite well, they had just recently discovered that she had she had an incredibly powerful affinity for **[Light Magic]**. Magic was determined largely by genetics, so it is not very surprising. Layla had been a powerful **[Celestial Magic]** user, and Loke used a light-based magic known as **[Regulus]**. They had been enjoying their new, peaceful life as opposed to the one they previously had in Tokyo.

Natsu really wished he was there right now, but his bad luck never ceased to amaze him. As of now, he was standing amongst thousands of dead soldiers of the Great Asian Alliance. Natsu had gotten himself caught up in what would be later known as the Defense Battle in Okinawa.

This had to be the one time that he was hunting a criminal within Japan's borders. He had just killed his target and gotten his reward where he had transferred the money into his bank account when all hell broke loose.

The entire coast of Okinawa looked like a war-zone. Japan's military forces that had been stationed there were completely unprepared for a military invasion of one of their beaches and were completely slaughtered at the hands of the Great Asian Alliance's magicians.

Large tsunamis were trying to make their way onto the beach, but Natsu pushed each wave back by generating massive vibrations through the air. A tsunami would have been quite an issue right now with all the immobile soldiers and civilians being dragged off by medics, they would have most certainly drowned. The only reason he was preventing that from happening was because he was the cause of these tsunamis.

He had dealt with the majority of the foreign soldiers with high voltage lightning bolts, both electrocuting them to death or overloading the bioelectrical signals throughout their nervous systems which caused their brains to be fried from the inside out. Whatever the case, smoldering corpses covered the streets of Okinawa, but that hadn't been what caused Natsu to become so annoyed at the situation.

Natsu had been forced to use his most powerful spell, **[Calamity: Advent of Thunder]** to destroy the offshore fleet of Great Asian Alliance soldiers and magicians, thus revealing that he was a strategic-class magician.

The spell itself starts by heating up the atmosphere, producing large thunder clouds and heavy rain. Then Natsu gathers all of the natural lightning in those thunder clouds and converges it into a massive spherical cloud of pure lightning energy. He thing brings the sphere down onto his target at high speeds, completely obliterating anything in its path. The spell has power equivalent to that of the most powerful nuclear warheads that the world has at its disposal.

The Defense Battle of Okinawa.

Future historians would look back on the battle and refer to it as such.

However anyone who had witnessed the magic itself or any magician would look back on the event would refer to it differently.

The Crying Heavens Incident. It was an appropriate title for the events that had taken place that day.

It was a turning point in the war, just as it was a turning point in military history.

This was the day that magic was proven to have surpassed mechanical, nuclear, and biological weapons.

Laid before the world was the undeniable truth that magic alone determined the difference between victory and defeat, between life and death.

This marked the true dawn of history for the race known as magicians.

This was the day that the child soldier and bounty hunter known as Havoc, became known world-wide as an unstoppable fore of nature. And he was. **[Calamity]** was the power to control natural disasters themselves. Whether it be tornadoes, lightning, tsunamis, earthquakes, or volcanic eruptions, Natsu could produce all of them at a level that made him comparable in power to that of the Ten Wizard Saints, the ten strongest magicians in Japan that have been recognized by the Magic Council and the emperor for their prowess.

Natsu could only sigh. Life for him as Havoc would become much more complicated because of this little incident.

Natsu chose to make his exit as he saw a large wave of razor-sharp cherry blossoms heading his way. After all this time it seemed that Ikaruga was still after his head. Where was the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion when the city was in danger of being invaded or when their soldiers were being slaughtered on the beaches?

Didn't she have anything better to do at the moment? Perhaps help their soldiers who were still clinging to life in the sand, or perhaps tracking down any foreign soldiers who may have escaped into the city. Natsu was really starting to get tired of their obsession with him.

Natsu quickly disappeared in a flash of lightning as the cherry blossoms surrounded where he was standing only a moment ago. Sometimes he was quite thankful that he was born as a magician with superpowers, generic magicians would never be able to accomplish feats such as moving at the speed of lightning.

* * *

"The war is over, Hisui-hime, there is no point in continuing to chase after me. You do have orders to return to Japan do you not?" Natsu said to the young woman as he dodged another volley of compressed air bullets. Natsu drew one oh his knives and parried a slash from her rapier. Her rapier was a special type of CAD that allowed her to both activate her magic and be used as a regular sword. Hisui was a master swords-woman.

"I am well aware of the current situation." She declared before sending several rapid thrusts forward, intent on piercing him through his vital points. However, her attempts were in vain as Natsu easily evaded before catching her rapier between the blades of his knife. "That is why we must settle this here and now. This may be the last time that we ever cross blades and I want to know who is better you or I."

Hisui E. Fiore was a beautiful young woman. She was quite slim and petite, which inly accentuated her shapely figure. She has wavy light green hair that reaches down to the middle of her back with two strands framing her face, as well as bangs that obscure the majority of her forehead. Her pale skin contrasted her hair color quite nicely. She also has large, dark green eyes and long eyelashes. Most men would have been distracted by her figure in the middle of combat, but Natsu wasn't like most men.

She was also the only daughter of the emperor and the next in line for the throne. Same may wonder about that rationality of sending the next leader of the nation to war, but the current emperor was one of the main reasons that Japan survived during World War Three. Therefore, he would never let his daughter be anything other than strong. The nation's leader must lead by example after all. If the emperor themselves were strong, then it would deter other countries from taking action against Japan.

However it didn't seem to be enough as Natsu had already defeated her in every one of their previous encounters.

She was one of the members of the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion. They had been chasing after Natsu for over five years now and he had defeated more than his fair share of them. Normally he would have killed his enemies, but he was still a patriot and killing some of the most prominent magicians in the country wouldn't do well for the war effort.

Hisui managed to free her rapier from Natsu's hold and jumped back several yards as she sent a crescent wave of compressed psions at Natsu, which he shattered immediately. Natsu had become one of the most prominent counter mages in the country. By creating large vibrations in the air, similar to how he would cause an earthquake, he could 'shatter' any activation sequence or magic that was thrown at him. It was quite an useful application in a world dominated by magic.

It had been six months since the Crying Heavens Incident, the event which had turned the tide of the war. On that day six months ago, the Great Asian Alliance had been planning a full invasion of Japan that started with Okinawa. Though they hadn't expected a strategic class mage to be present for the assault.

Due to Natsu's use of his strategic class magic, the Great Asian Alliance had lost close to a fifth of their military. This proved to make enough of a difference for them to slowly pushed back into a corner before they surrendered.

"Why does it matter who is better? Why you continue to fight me when there is no longer any point? Were you not only after me because of my crimes as a bounty hunter?" Natsu asked as he erected several small tornadoes which threw her into the forest before she used **[Gram Dispersion]** to disperse the tornadoes into a mist of psion particles.

"Because you are the only person to have ever beat me. I can hold my own against the other members of my battalion well enough, in fact I am one of the strongest. Yet you have beaten me and I can tell that you haven't ever gone all out in our confrontations. I want to see how strong you truly are." Hisui stated as she came back into the clearing from where she had been thrown.

Hisui was also a counter mage. In fact, it was one of the areas that she specialized in. Unlike Natsu, she used true counter magic that required an excessive psion count. This spoke volumes about her talent as a magician.

Natsu parried another strong strike from her used her momentum to sidestep her and bring his leg out to kick her across the clearing. Just because he was a force of nature didn't mean that Natsu neglected his physical abilities. He actually used hand to hand combat more often because of how destructive his magic is.

"If we don't stop this fight now, I may have no choice but to destroy this forest. That would be quite a shame since I do rather enjoy the wilderness." Natsu stated as he watched Hisui stand back up. If one thing, the girl was persistent.

"I would prefer not to have to destroy this forest either, it is quite beautiful. But I'm willing to make that sacrifice just this once."

Natsu dodged another strike from Hisui, but this time he saw his opportunity. He grabbed her sword with his left hand and placed his right palm on her abdomen, activating his spell **[Calamity: Thunder Binding]**.

As soon as the magic circle appeared on her abdomen, lightning coursed through her body and she crumpled to the ground, unable to move. The spell that Natsu used was meant to disrupt the electrical signals that neurotransmitters send to the brain, preventing any part of the victim's body from moving. The only problem with it is that there is a time limit for how long it can remain active, thirty minutes, or until the user was out of range.

"You should have known better than to fight me in close quarters combat. Had you not been from Japan I would have killed you by now, despite my actions I am a patriot...struggling is futile, so don't bother." Natsu spoke as he sat down on a tree stump across from the downed girl.

"You really are the best Havoc-kun...I didn't even manage to force you to use your stronger spells." Hisui smiled as she accepted defeat.

"I apologize for not giving you the fight that you wanted...with my type of magic it's hard to test your strength without destroying the surrounding area or killing your opponent...it'd be a shame for you to die here."

The green-haired woman sighed knowing this may be the last time the two of them would ever meet. "After I return to Japan I won't ever be setting foot on the battlefield again...I'll need to begin learning my duties as the next empress for when the time comes...what will you do?" Hisui asked curiously.

Natsu thought for a minute before answering. "I will continue to do what I've always done. I've accumulated quite a bit of wealth over my years as a bounty hunter, more than enough to live a luxurious lifestyle for myself and my little sister...but that doesn't mean my fight is over... I never did this just for the money, I did it to benefit the country as well. Why else do you think I began my career with eliminating all those corrupt politicians years ago? I did it because those within the government couldn't."

Though he really couldn't do anything within the government if he wanted to because of the bounty still out on his head. It had been raised to just over six million following the events six months ago. It might have actually been nice to live a life off the battlefield.

"What if I offer you a chance to be a member of the Garou Knights? Would you accept?" Hisui offered, surprising Natsu though it was impossible to see because of his mask.

The Garou Knights were an independent unit of the emperor's personal magicians that executed any criminals who enter the palace, guarded the royal palace, eliminated anything perceived to be a threat to the royal family, and usually acted as bodyguards for any main members of the royal family. Most of the current Wizard Saints were former members of the Garou Knights, that speaks of how skilled one must be to be offered the position.

"Thanks for the offer Hime-chan, but I'm a pretty well known criminal and wanted in a dozen countries, including Japan... I'm wanted for terrorism, murder, attempted murder, public disorder, mass property damage, kidnapping, extortion, bribery, and so much more. There's no way you could just offer me such a prestigious position, the emperor would never accept it." Natsu dismissed after regaining his composure.

"I could clear your name! I can at least do that much after all the help you've provided during the war! Even if you decide not to take my offer, I will still remove the bounty and warrant that Japan has out on you." Hisui declared passionately.

Her determination surprised Natsu, he had no idea she wanted him to accept her offer so badly. Sure he had defeated most of the members of her battalion, the most powerful magic battalion in Japan, but why did she want him as one of her personal body guards? Why did she think she could trust him?

"Why do you even want me to be one of the Garou Knights? I'm generally hated by most of the prominent figures of the Japanese military." Natsu questioned.

"That's one of the reasons why. You're not loyal to any clan or any military superior, which makes you one of the top candidates. Not to mention you're strong enough to be a Wizard Saint." He supposed those were good enough reasons for him to give her a chance. Trust wasn't something that was given out easily these days, especially for someone who has seen war.

"Any you're what thirteen? Fourteen? You're only a few years younger than me and yet you've beaten more times than I can count. You're not someone who would be influenced by money or bribery. We've clashed blades more times than I can count, we've always been on opposing sides and yet I can feel like I can trust you."

Natsu looked the princess of Japan in the eyes. He took note of the pleading look that she was trying to hide, she wasn't known for being the most trusting women ever since Jose Porla's betrayal. The fact that she had worked beside him for so long and never realized what he was planning really hit her hard.

Natsu sighed behind his mask. He slowly got up from his seat on the tree stump and began walking away.

"If you manage to clear my name once you get to Japan, then I'll come to you...until then this is goodbye." Natsu waved to her over his shoulder before disappearing in a flash of lightning, releasing her from his binding spell simultaneously.

She looked on at where he was standing only moments ago with a small smile on her face. She really hoped she would be able to convince her father to drop the charges. Feelings can be expressed more through a blade than through words alone. This was the reason she trusted Havoc more than her own comrades. They all had their own agendas. Whether it was to bring pride to their clan, to be promoted to a higher rank in the military, for fame and glory. She was able to sense them all.

But when she clashed blades with Havoc, all she felt were his pure emotions. She felt his intentions, his magic, his aura. All of it was so pure and uncorrupted. He could have killed her dozens of times by now if her wanted to, but he never did. Even though he had been her enemy for over five years, she trusted him more than anyone else in the world.

* * *

"Wow...I really didn't expect her to broadcast it all over news..." Natsu managed to get out. He was in quite a bit of shock as he stared on at the broadcast on the terminal hanging from the wall. He really didn't expect the princess to go so far.

"I knew you said she was determined...but don't you think this is going a little too far?" Mavis replied blandly. She wasn't faring much better as she stared on with the flattest expression she could muster.

"Well...she always did know how to get her point across..." Natsu replied.

Hisui had set up the news channel on a broadcast so it was on a twenty four hour loop. On the left side of the screen was a picture of Natsu as Havoc, decked out in his mask and usual hunter gear, with the emperor speaking on the right side of the screen.

The leader of Japan was expressing his deepest apologies to Havoc for sending the Japanese a military battalion after him and not realizing that he was doing everything he could to help Japanese troops, including his daughter. The emperor also stated that Havoc had been framed for the deaths of those politicians and that the real perpetrator had been a foreign spy and was dealt with appropriately. All charges against him had been dropped.

Hisui had really gone all out for this, Natsu really shouldn't have expected any less. But really, he was the most skilled child soldier in the history of Japan. He would be able to figure out if she was successful of not without an entire news channel dedicated to him.

"Are you going to go through with it Onii-sama?" Mavis asked as she shyly grabbed onto Natsu's arm and clung to it.

Mavis didn't particularly like the idea of her Onii-sama spending so much time with a woman as beautiful as Hisui. She knew it was selfish. Natsu had walked through battlefields, slaughtering everybody in sight just for her. He became a demon for her sake and hers alone.

She gipped onto his arm tighter. Mavis knew that this was a great opportunity for Natsu, one that most magicians could only dream of achieving. And for someone who was deemed a failure in magic by his own family, this was the greatest testament to his skill. For someone who was once called a failure to be offered a position as one of the emperor's elite magicians, Mavis couldn't be prouder of her Onii-sama.

But she was jealous. Jealous that the next empress would steal her Onii-sama away from her. Mavis had been there when Natsu was at his highest and his lowest. Whether he was the failure of the Dragneel clan or Japan's strongest child soldier, she was always right there by his side. She knew that it was a foolish thought, Natsu had even chosen her over his own family. But the thought still troubled her.

Natsu had done so much for her over the years. He had took her in when nobody else would. He practically raised her as if she were his own daughter. He risked his life for her day in and day out. He had given up who he had been for her.

He had done so much for her, there would be no way for Mavis to ever be able to repay Natsu. She would always be eternally grateful, but that wasn't enough. The only thing she could do was give him her unconditional and undying love. The love that he had always wanted, and the love that he had no idea he wanted.

"Yeah...I promised her that if she was able to clear my name...then I'd accept her offer." Natsu answered before noticing Mavis's downcast expression. He pulled his little sister in tighter and wrapped an arm around her waist, earning a squeak from the girl. "Don't worry Mavis, I will never leave you...it may seem like I'll be gone more, but this job is within Japan's borders. This means that I won't have to be gone so much anymore. I can make it from here to the royal palace in less than an hour now...if anything, we'll be together even more." Natsu whispered into Mavis' ear.

Natsu wasn't just going to be leaving his little sister at home now either. She was thirteen years old now as well, which meant that she should begin attending a middle school. The educational system had changed drastically since the dawn of the 21st century. Only the wealthy, or those from noble clans, really went to elementary schools. These schools are where their magic education would start, along with other standard subjects.

As a former Dragneel clan member, Natsu had attended elementary school for several years and he could honestly say that it was a pointless waste of time. At least for him it was. By that time he had already been a bounty hunter and knew all he needed to about magic and the world. He preferred to be out on hunts as opposed to attending class. The classes were also separate from public education. Most clan children of the main families have their identities a secret from the public, so only surnames were used. This is why they became so popular amongst clans.

More children attended middle school because they were mainly public institutions and did not provide more than basic magic lessons. Every school was required to have a magic course and magic extracurricular club to interest children in magic. This was mainly because Japan had a shortage of magicians. They had always focused more on quality that quantity. Once students turned thirteen or fourteen they were usually entered into a middle school.

High school was no longer a requirement for education. By this point in time, students know whether or not they want to enter a career in the world of magic. That is what these schools are for, they focus primarily on magic studies. There are a total if nine magic high schools in Japan, Natsu wanted to enter Mavis into first high school when the time came. It was the most prestigious and he would accept nothing less than the best for his princess. Students usually entered high school at the age of sixteen, though prodigies and those advanced in magic could attend before then. Age also played a large factor in magic development, that's why the entrance average was changed from fourteen to sixteen.

Using magic recklessly when you were younger could affect your body negatively later in life. This was mainly the case for modern magicians though. Those with superpowers or who focused on ancient magic didn't suffer these kind of drawbacks.

Natsu didn't bother sending Mavis to elementary school because he could teach her everything she needed. Though middle school was a different story. It would help her growth in basic knowledge and magic studies as well. Most importantly though, she needed to learn how to interact with people. She had only ever spent time with Natsu, and she would need to learn how to deal with people eventually. This was the perfect opportunity.

They had already discussed this and she agreed to attend as long as it didn't get in the way of her personal studies. Natsu had loved that she always strove to surpass his expectations. Whether it was learning politics, her physical training regimen, or mastering every spell he threw at her, Mavis always did everything she could to prove to him that she was worth his love.

She really didn't have to, he would always love her. She had been the only one who was always there for him, even when his own family abandoned him, she didn't. That was more than he could ever ask for.

"Do you promise Onii-sama?" Mavis asked hopefully as she engulfed him in a tight embrace, nuzzling her face into his chest.

"I told you before that I would give you the life that you deserve...you wouldn't be able to live that life without your Onii-sama now would you?" Natsu teased as he returned her loving embrace. "I'll deal with all of this starting tomorrow, so why don't we spend the whole day together? "

Mavis beamed at his offer. "That sounds perfect Onii-sama!" She cheered happily. He loved seeing her like this.

"I hear that a new cake store opened up in town and I've been dying to try it out. Their strawberry cheesecake is supposed to be divine. How about we start there?" Natsu asked.

He didn't receive any verbal answer as Mavis was already excitedly dragging him towards the door. He could only chuckle at his little sister's antics. After all of these years she hadn't changed very much.

* * *

"Have you decided to take my offer Havoc-kun?" Hisui asked as she sat on a throne next to her father in the main hall of the royal palace. The princess look really did suit her much better than the usual uniforms of the 101st Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion.

Speaking of them, he had heard that many of their members had left the military after the Asian War. Many of them were fighting for superficial reasons, and after achieving them had either retired or been promoted. The two he was most familiar with were Hisui and Ikaruga. Hisui was now being groomed to be the next leader of Japan, while Ikaruga had retired and pledged never to step foot in a war-zone again. Her main duties now consisted of work for the Dragneel clan.

Another piece of information that made him chuckle was the current state of the Dragneel clan. The clan elders that he had hated so much had been executed by Igneel and now the clan was under a complete reformation. They were trying to rebuild the clan based on the beliefs that they held during World War Three. Apparently his sisters had been hit pretty hard with his disappearance. How strange.

Though he had already sworn never to be a member of that clan again, reformed or not.

Natsu was currently in his hunter attire. He would never come before the princess or step foot on a battlefield without it. It would bring far too much attention to him. Not to mention the fact that he had grown accustomed to it over the past five years.

He eyed the Emperor as the man looked tired and defeated, Hisui must have really put him through the ringer about that news broadcast and his public apology. The man was had fought in World War Three and helped shape this country into what it today, yet he can't handle his daughter's stubborn streak. It is quite amusing to think about.

Toma E. Fiore was a man of short stature, with gray hair that was parted in the middle and a thing gray mustache. At one time he was considered the strongest mage in all of Japan, alongside a few of the older clan heads. However, he was getting up there in the years, hence why he decided to start grooming Hisui for her spot as Empress.

Natsu brought his mind off of the occupants in the room to look Hisui in the eyes. He was standing there in the middle of the hall. Standing, not kneeling nor bowing. Natsu had made a name for himself as Havoc by doing whatever he pleased, whether it was bounty hunting or wiping entire cities off the map. He was not a man who would willingly preform such a submissive act. Especially not to a woman he defeated not even forty eight hours ago.

"I wouldn't have come all this way just to refuse. The offer you have given me is too good to pass up, much better than bounty hunting in fact." Natsu stated with his distorted voice.

The princess's smile widened after hearing that statement. She had honestly expecting him to turn down her offer, Havoc didn't seem like one who would like to be associated with politics or royalty. Though, all her fears vanished after hearing his words.

"I'm glad to hear that. I had actually been expecting you to refuse, so this quite the turn of events." Hisui said, trying to hide the excitement in her eyes. "Are you prepared to take on this duty? The Garou Knights have a two year minimum enlistment term. This means that once you agree, you will work exclusively for the royal family for the next two years. In reality, it isn't much different from military service."

The Garou Knights acted as the last line of defense and the personal body guards of the royal family. They were assigned all kinds of duties, whether it be executions, interrogations, infiltration, espionage, assassination, escorts, or anything else. They weren't solely body guards, they were more like high class black ops agents. Though they mostly did their duties at the palace.

Every single member of the Garou Knights is exceptionally skilled. After they move on from their duties, most of them end up becoming Wizard Saints or members of the Magic Council.

There was a minimum service of two years and a maximum service of six years, they had these time restrictions put in place because during World War Three it was found out that one of these members had been a spy for over ten years and had been leaking information to the nation's enemies. These restrictions were to prevent an incident like that from ever happening again.

"I'm well aware of what my duties will entail and I am more than prepared for them." Natsu stated firmly.

"Then let me be the first to welcome you to the Garou Knights." Hisui's soft yet stern voice spoke as she got up from her seat on the throne and walked up to where Natsu was standing. "Do you have a name or would you prefer to use your old codename?"

Natsu smirked behind his mask. Havoc and Natsu were two very different people. Natsu was the kind and thoughtful older brother. A genius in his own right, but one lacking in magical talent. Havoc was a emotionless assassin, a cold-blooded killer. He was an unstoppable force of nature. Even if they were standing side by side it would be impossible to make the comparison.

Behind the mask, he would always be Havoc.

"I've been going by Havoc for over five years now, my personal life and professional one are two different things. I will always be Havoc when performing my duties." Natsu stated as he reminisced about how he first received his name.

"I expected as much." Hisui sighed as she walked past Natsu. "Now come. Let's introduce you to the rest of the Garou Knights, and now your comrades. I have a feeling you'll get along just fine."

Natsu sighed as he took note of Hisui's tone. She was amused. In every encounter that he had ever had with the woman, she had never once been amused. These Garou Knights had to have been quite hard to deal with if the mere thought of Natsu meeting them amused her.

This would be a long few years.

Would he regret making this choice later on in life?

Doubtful. Natsu did not believe in regrets. There was nothing to regret since every one of his decisions and actions was his choice in the end.

One thing was for certain, things would get a whole lot more interesting from here on.

* * *

 **Chapter End**

 _As some of you may have noticed, there will be some crossover elements from other series, mainly techniques and uses of powers._

 _When bounty hunting or doing work involving magic, Natsu wears the same outfit as Hei from Darker Than Black._

 _[Calamity] is Tempesta's curse from Fairy Tail, but I've amped it up so it is what it should have been. I have mixed the curse with Enel's, and Whitebeard's, devil fruit powers from one piece, so that he can control all types of natural disasters. At least that is the information I will be revealing on it for now._

 _Many will say he is far too overpowered, but in the Mahouka storyline there are approximately 50 magicians with magic comparable to a strategic nuclear warheads. They are invaluable military resources for their nation and if Tatsuya can be one with [Decomposition] then Natsu can be one with [Calamity]._

 _And yes, I did choose Mavis as the little sister character. I had considered so many for this position, especially Wendy and Chelia but I just kept coming back to Mavis. She is just so adorable and seems like the perfect little sister. I couldn't help but picture Angelina Shields when writing Mavis's character if that helps you see how she would look in the high school uniforms._

 _All character will have their season two appearances starting in high school. Animation is much better and the characters don't have such childish designs._

 _Magic is used the same way it is in the Fairy Tail universe and the Mahouka universe, it is basically a combination of the two._

 _Next chapter will be the start of the high school arc._


	2. Blooming Marigolds and Wilting Roses

Chapter 2: Blooming Marigolds and Wilting Roses

 ***This is the start of the high school arc. There is a three year time-skip between the end of last chapter and this chapter, but what happened during it will be mentioned as the story progresses.**

 **Everybody is in their season 2 appearances, unless they only appeared before the year X791 in Fairy Tail canon.**

 **Natsu will be terribly scarred in this story and it will play a large part in his appearance and experience, and will be mentioned every now and then. He was a soldier for over eight years now, nobody comes out of that unscathed. If you don't like that, disregard it or just deal with it.**

 **Natsu's scars are similar to Admiral Aokiji's scars after his battle with Akainu in one piece. It only seemed fitting.**

 **The update speed normally won't be so fast, but I had a majority of this chapter written before I even released the first chapter of this story.**

 _CAD - Cast Assisting Device_

 _Psion - Thought particles that are emitted when magic is invoked, similar to magic power._

 _Terminal - Replace things such as cell phones, computers, etc...They are devices that replace anything with a screen._

* * *

I own neither Fairy Tail nor Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.

* * *

 **Modern Age: Blooming Marigolds and Wilting Roses**

 _Magic._

 _It is a product of neither legends nor fairy tails, but instead has become a reality since a time unknown to people._

 _Some believe that it was first created during the dawn of the 21st century and was meant to prevent the world from entering a thermonuclear war. Others believe that has existed since the beginning of time._

 _For how long magic has existed, nobody may ever know. The first records of the use of magic date back to before the year X700, when less then ten percent of the population practiced magic. When magicians banded together and formed what were known as wizard guilds._

 _However, the magic that was used then was much different then it is now._

 _The magic that was used by mages centuries ago was lost among history, never to be found again._

 _Supernatural power became a technology systemized through magic, while magic became a technical skill._

 _In this day and age magic technicians, or magicians for short, became capable of surpassing all prior forms of arms. Whether it be chemical, biological, or even nuclear weapons, magicians were capable of achieving the impossible and became an invaluable resource for each and every nation._

 _At the end of the 21st century in the year 2095, every nation in the world was locked in the race to nurture magic technicians._

 _This notion was only supported by the Crying Heavens Incident that occurred in Okinawa over three years ago. That incident was the first use of Strategic-Class during wartime._

 _The world had what was known as the Fourteen Apostles. These were fourteen Strategic-Class magicians whose identities were revealed to the world for the sake of national prestige, though is was approximated that there were fifty of them in the world. In reality thirteen of them were and the Japanese magician known as Havoc was placed into that category because of his use of his Strategic-Class magic in actual combat._

 _As of 2095, countries have only demonstrated their Strategic Magics without applying them for actual combat use and they are only theorized in how they can be used for actual military engagements._

 _After the Crying Heavens Incident in 2092, many nations started reconsidering the effectiveness of large scale magic and began a second race for producing Strategic-Class magicians._

 _Japan was no exception._

 _Affiliated with the National University of Magic, were the nine magic high schools._

 _The locations of these nine schools are as follows:_

 _First High School: Hachioji (Kanto, Tokyo)_

 _Second High School: Nishinomiya (Kinki, Hyogo)_

 _Third High School: Kanazawa (Hokuriku, Ishikawa)_

 _Fourth High School: Hamamatsu (Tokai, Shizuoka)_

 _Fifth High School: Sendai (Tohoku, Miyagi)_

 _Sixth High School: Izumo (Sanin, Shimane)_

 _Seventh High School: Kochi (Shikoku, Kochi)_

 _Eighth High School: Otaru (Hokkaido)_

 _Ninth High School:Kumamoto (Kyushu, Kumamoto)_

 _First to Third High Schools have a fixed quota of admitting 400 hundred students per year. These students are then divided into two courses, Course 1 and Course 2. The difference between these two course is the availability of instructors. Without that distinct difference, the two courses are almost identical._

 _These nine high schools are upper level magic institutions that send a large majority of their graduates to the National University of Magic every year._

 _If one does not graduate from a magic high school, one cannot pursue studies at the National University of Magic._

 _They are also elite schools that produce the largest number of magicians every year._

 _There is no such thing as equality among magicians._

 _Much of a magicians capabilities are determined by genetics, however one who is born from two strong magicians and does not work for it will never become above average. Magic is a talent-driven world. However hard work will always surpass talent if those with talent do not work hard._

 _Though, that is not a widely understood concept._

 _People will always try to take the easy way out or try to become successful with as little work as possible, even in this day and age._

 _Many Course 2 students use genetics and talent as an excuse so that they can wallow in self-pity and accept that they will never do anything with their lives._

 _It is quite pitiful to be honest._

 _Even someone who is born an orphan can succeed in the world of magic, it just all depends how far they are willing to go to reach their goal._

 _Japan is suffering from a shortage of magicians because they had always focused more on quality than quality. Would the country really waste its resources on students who had no chance of becoming magicians?_

 _They didn't have the luxury to do so._

 _In the magic high schools, only the elites are accepted. Right at the start of enrollment, they are divided into high achievers and low achievers. Those with natural born talent and those who will have to work for it._

 _Even if two individuals are both freshmen, that does not mean that they will be considered equal. Even if they are related by blood._

 _This is the story about:_

 _A defective elder brother low achiever._

 _A perfect, flawless younger sister high achiever._

 _After both siblings entered First High School,_

 _The stage of daily turbulence was unveiled._

* * *

"I can't accept this!"

"You're still going on about that...?"

It was the day of First High School's entrance ceremony, but it was still early in the morning, two hours before the actual start of the ceremony.

The freshmen who had been waiting for this day since they had been accepted into such a prestigious school, still numbered few and far between.

Standing before the auditorium were a man and woman pair, clad in their new uniforms, were engaged in a disagreement of sorts.

The one with an outraged expression and who was yelling was a girl sixteen years of age. Though girl wasn't the correct word for someone who gave off such a feeling of beauty, grace, and elegance. No, lady would be much more appropriate. The lady was absolutely beautiful with a well developed body for someone of her age, which only complimented her even further. With long, wavy pale blonde hair that reached down to her lower back, and with stunning pupil-less green eyes that could match the beauty of emeralds, with such pale and flawless, smooth skin, both men and women would be captivated just by being in her mere presence.

The teenager across from her, looking at her with a tender and loving look, had his own charm to him. He was tall for a man of Japanese descent, standing at a height of 5'11", with teeth that would be more accurately described as fangs, a pair of piercing, slitted onyx eyes and rose-colored hair. His hair fairly long and spiky, covered a majority of his forehead and framing his face, giving him a rugged look and obscured the large scar on his forehead that reached from the upper left corner of his forehead to just above the inside of his left eyebrow. His body was fairly lean, but sculpted from pure muscle. He was quite handsome for someone his age. In addition to the normal male uniform, he wore a pure black glove on his right hand.

The difference in their uniforms were what they were arguing about. On the female's chest was an eight-petaled flower design of First High School's emblem. This was not present on the boy's uniform.

"Onii-sama, why are you a reserve? Didn't you top the entrance exams? Typically, you are the one who should become the freshman class representative, not me!"

For anyone who was watching the scene unfold in front of them, they would be surprised to hear that the two students before them were siblings. They had no similarities with each other whatsoever, in fact they seemed more like an arguing couple than anything.

"Putting aside the question of where you got hold of the entrance exam results...since this is a magic high school, it's obvious that they'd place more emphasis on practical magic skills rather than paper tests, right...? Mavis, you are well aware of my normal practical abilities aren't you? The only reason I was accepted was for my theoretical knowledge and...you know." The boy said, his eyes not leaving the angry face of his sister.

What he was referring to was the fact that he was a superpower. Like the case with most superpowers, Natsu's magic calculation area was dominated by his specialties and his ability with generic magic deteriorated to the point where he could no longer use any of it.

However, he did find a way around that so he could attend high school with his sister. The glove on his right hand acted as an enhanced CAD, along with covering his completely burned right hand and forearm. It was designed with a similar concept to that of his mask. Engraving magic was used in its design and psions were stored in it for use when he activated it. It gave him activation speed comparable to that of an average course two student. It was completely useless for real world applications though.

Natsu was trying to calm down Mavis, who was quite upset that her Onii-sama was labelled as a course two student. Natsu didn't really care either way, actually he preferred to be a course two student. This way there wouldn't be anyone to supervise his actions. Besides, he had more experience than any teacher in this school ever would. It would be awkward to have a student know more about magic theory and application than the actual teacher.

However, Mavis wouldn't have any of it.

"How can you be so unsure of yourself?! Even when there's nobody who could match you in studies and taijutsu! The truth is, even for magic you..."

"Mavis!" Natsu yelled to stop his sister from revealing any more information that was needed. She recoiled slightly at Natsu's tone. He never yelled at her, but when he did it was only because she was out of line.

"You understand right? No matter what you say, nothing can be changed nor would I want it to...my magic is too dangerous to be revealed here...if it's an emergency, I always have my ancient magic, but even that is cutting it close. Not even the Magic Council knows who I am underneath the mask and I would prefer to keep it that way." He said as he closed the distance between him and his sister.

"...I apologize." She spoke in a soft, melodic tone.

"Mavis..."

He brought his hand up to her lowered head and gently stroked her silky, blonde hair, earning a purr from said girl.

"You being upset in my place makes me very happy. You know my true capabilities and the reason why things turned out like this, yet you still get upset."

"Liar."

"I would never lie to you my dear imouto."

"Liar. Onii-sama you're always scolding me..."

"As I said, I'm not lying. I feel the same way about you that you do about me." Natsu said absentmindedly as he stroked his sister's hair.

Mavis blushed deeply and turned around to hide her embarrassment. "Onii-sama...feels the same way..."

 _'I feel that she somehow took that the wrong way...whatever.'_ Natsu thought as he watched Mavis's usual antics.

Natsu moved forward and placed his hands on the young blonde's shoulders.

"Even if you back out of giving the orientation address, there is no way I'll be selected as a replacement. If you back out now, you won't be able to avoid blemishing your record so early on...I may be a former bounty hunter, wanted in over a dozen countries, but that doesn't mean I would even let my sister receive a single scar on your perfection." Natsu whispered softly into her ear.

"But..." Mavis tried to say, still slightly embarrassed.

"Besides Mavis, I'm looking forward to it...I've had plenty of time in the limelight, now I just want to watch my cute little sister begin hers."

Mavis giggled at his words. "You sound like an old man Onii-sama...but I understand...I apologize for getting so worked up." Mavis spoke shamefully.

"You need not apologize for showing how much you care about me." Mavis blushed once again for some reason. "Now you should get going then, the rehearsal will be starting soon."

"Well then I'll be taking my leave...please watch me, Onii-sama." The girl asked cheerfully.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Mavis gave a wide smiled and waved to her Onii-sama before disappearing into the auditorium. After which, Natsu breathed a sigh of relief.

 _'Well...what am I supposed to do now?'_

Natsu was now at a loss for what to do. There will still close to two hours before the ceremony began and there wasn't much to do around the school until the ceremony was over and they were able to find out which classes they were in.

 _'Why did I even have to come here so early again?'_

With those thoughts in mind, Natsu began to wander aimlessly throughout First High School's campus.

* * *

After five minutes of wandering around aimlessly while referring to the campus map displayed on his mobile terminal, Natsu could be found sitting on a three-person bench while reading a book on his mobile terminal.

The courtyard seemed to be a shortcut from the preparation building to the auditorium, Natsu noted as more students began flowing throughout the pathway.

They were probably forced by the student council and school advisors to help out at the entrance ceremony. Every single one of them had the same eight-petaled emblem on the left side of their chests.

As they passed by, Natsu could hear the trail of ill-meaning words that left their mouths.

-"Isn't that kid a weed?"

-"He's early...he sure is enthusiastic for a reserve."

-"Does he know that he's just a spare?"

-"How embarrassing, it seems he doesn't know that he's only a replacement."

The term Weed, refers to Course 2 students.

Students with the eight-petalled emblem of First High School on their uniforms are Course 1 students. They are the ones with natural born talent for magic and therefore are referred to as "Blooms", while Course 2 students are those born without talent and have to work ten times as hard in the hopes of being able to keep up with Course 1 students are called "Weeds". They do not have an emblem anywhere on their uniform.

It is because of this one difference that they are discriminated against and looked down upon in the school. In more cases than not, Course 2 students never reach their full potential and drop out or transfer to regular high schools.

The quota for the freshmen in the school is four hundred.

Within those four hundred students, two hundred of them are entered as Course 1 and the other two hundred are entered as Course 2.

The purpose of the nine magic high schools affiliated with the National University of Magic is to nurture Magic Technicians.

In exchange for a granted budget from the country, First High School produces over one hundred graduates who either enter the university or enroll into a Magical Technical Institute of Specialized Higher Training.

Publicly, it's forbidden to call Course 2 students weeds. However, that rule isn't always followed by the students themselves. It has become something of a derogatory word that Course 2 students cannot deny. The term is even rooted in the Course 2 students themselves. Within a few weeks of the beginning of the school year, they understand that they are nothing more than spares. Nothing more than replacements to take the place of Course 1 students if they drop out or can no longer use magic because of accidents.

It is the same for Natsu.

He was well aware of that fact when he enrolled in the school. There was no need for students to remind him of what he already knew.

Though with his reputation within the magical community it really didn't matter.

If Natsu was a weed, then those students were nothing more than seeds.

Every student that he had seen so far was utterly pathetic. They are all naïve, ignorant, innocent, spoiled brats. They had never stepped foot on a battlefield or even had to fight to the death using the magic that they were so proud of. They had overinflated egos and yet he couldn't sense an ounce of potential from these students.

Apparently Japan had been giving it to the notion that quantity was better than quality. Most of these people would be dead the first time they ever stepped foot on a battlefield.

That or they would become pencil pushers and those who worked for private companies.

If this was what the best of magic high school was then he was only wasting his time here.

Though, he already knew that. He was here for Mavis, nothing more.

Natsu didn't need to go to a magic high school to enter into the world of magic, he was already there. However, Mavis was a different story altogether. She was skilled in her own right and had the most potential he had seen in years, but she lacked experience. Going to a magic high school would be good for her to master her magic and make a name for herself in the magical community without becoming a soldier.

Natsu had no desire to become wrapped up in everything that was high school. Seriously, he had hunted criminals, fought in wars, defeated Japan's strongest military battalion, decimated entire cities, slaughtered tens of thousands, and so much more. High school would be a little mundane for his tastes.

Natsu was broken from his thoughts when he heard a voice speak up from before him.

"Are you a new student? It's almost time for the ceremony." The voice was clearly feminine.

Natsu looked at the clock it the corner of terminal and saw that there were only thirty minutes left before the ceremony started. It seemed that he had been occupied longer than he thought.

Natsu quickly logged off of the terminal and looked up to the woman standing before him.

The first thing that came into his line of sight was the short, white skirt of a uniform, then the CAD around her wrist.

CAD were used to replace tools such as talismans, staves, tomes, hand seals and magic circles. A CAD is what made modern magic possible, it was a necessity for any modern magician. The CAD only provided the activation sequence, it was up to the ability of the magician to invoke the actual magic.

The only magicians who did not use CADs were superpowers. They did not need any additional steps to activate their magic beyond thoughts or their will. This is why Natsu didn't usually use a CAD when in the field.

According to the young man's memory, the only students who were allowed to constantly carry CADs within the school compounds were executive members of the student council and particular committee members.

"Thank you. I hadn't realized that it had gotten so late, I'll be on my way." Natsu spoke after taking in the full form of the beautiful woman before him.

She was a pale-skinned woman who appeared to be a year or two older, but slightly shorter, than him. She had dark purple hair that flowed down to her lower back with bangs that obscured her forehead and two strands framing her face. Tied into her hair was a white ribbon that added a cute appearance alongside her mature aura. Her uniform clung tightly to her body because of her rather voluptuous figure, it also lacked the veil that came along with the female uniforms and the skirt was much shorter. To complement and contrast her skin and hair were a pair of stunning crimson eyes.

Even Natsu had to admit that she was quite beautiful.

Unsurprisingly, there was a eight-petalled flower emblem on the left side of her chest.

Under the gaze of such a beautiful and elegant woman, one would normally try to hide the fact that they were a Course 2 student to try to hide their shame.

Natsu did not. He did not hide his empty emblem. He did not perform any cowardly or submissive act, he merely stared back at the woman, not at all intimidated or aroused by her beauty.

Though he didn't exactly want to stick around and get actively involved with a high achieving student council member, it would undoubtedly be a pain in the ass for him.

"How interesting. A screen type terminal? Our school disallows the use of virtual display terminals. Despite this, many students still use the virtual display type...However, you are using the screen type before even enrolling." She commented in a melodic, sensual voice.

It seemed that she seemed to want to have a pleasant conversation instead of letting him be on his way. He would humor the woman, she didn't appear to have the same mentality as the other Course 1 students. Not to mention that she had a rather powerful aura surrounding her, she was the first one he had come across with any potential since leaving Mavis.

The psion count being emitted from her was on the same level as Mavis, and that was saying something.

He stood up, thus making the fact that he was a Course 2 student more clear as her line of sight was not too far away from his empty emblem.

But he gaze didn't hold the slightest bit of belittlement, and was filled with pure, innocent wonder instead. She caught a glimpse of the large scar on the right side of Natsu's neck before returning her gaze into his eyes.

"The virtual type isn't very suitable for reading." Natsu stated.

His reply sounded short, and uninterested, but it was the result of carful consideration. If he was excessively blunt, it would be more of a disadvantage to his little sister than himself. The freshmen representative is traditionally selected to become a member of the student council, and he wouldn't want his behavior to affect Mavis' first impression.

Upon hearing his calculated response, the upperclass-woman became even more impressed.

"Instead of watching animation you read huh? This is even rarer. I also prefer book-based information, so I'm kind of happy."

That really wasn't such a surprising piece of information. Natsu felt that this woman had an uncommonly sociable personality. Judging from her tone and speech, she only appeared to be getting friendlier.

"Oh I apologize for not introducing myself. I'm the student council president of First High School, Ultear Milkovich. Nice to meet you."

Even though she added a wink at the end, there was not a hint of wonder in her tone. With her beauty and voluptuous body, she radiated such an alluring atmosphere that would no doubt cause newly enrolled students to misunderstand her intentions.

Though that isn't what Natsu was focusing on at the moment, he was thinking of the name she just gave him.

A magician's ability is greatly influenced by heredity.

A magician's qualities are greatly related to their lineage.

This is what led to all this Bloom/Weed, Course 1/Course 2 nonsense. Those with strong genes will be able to use and activate magic at a much easier and at stronger level than those without them. Though that isn't the end all be all of the world of magic.

There are many clans within Japan and each of them possesses a superior bloodline. Many of the heirs and heiresses of those clans attend magic high schools all over the nation in order to improve their skills and increase their reputation. Quite a few of the more prominent clans send their children to First High School because of their reputation as the highest of the nine schools.

This woman was most likely a direct descendant of the Milkovich clan, a clan that specialized in the use of [Ice Magic] and one of the more tolerable clans of Japan. They are one of the only few that don't focus primarily on the production of stronger magicians for their clan, therefore they don't force any of their members into political or arranged marriages. This was one of the few clans that Natsu slightly respected because they didn't conform to the usual way of thinking.

Needless to say this woman was the student council president, the elite among elites. Some would say that she is even the exact opposite of him.

"My name is Natsu Vermillion."

"Natsu Vermillion...I see you really are that Natsu-kun..."

Ultear's eyes went wide with surprise after that revelation.

"Among the teachers you have been quite the topic recently." Ultear said sincerely, unconcerned with Natsu's silence. "Out of a hundred marks, the average mark of all seven subjects was a ninety-eight. Especially outstanding were Magic Engineering and Magic Theory. Even though the overall average mark for both of those were a were no more than a seventy, you received perfect grades in both subjects. It's an unheard of achievement."

Natsu was not expecting to hear such high praises from the student council president for his entrance exam results. He had not even expected the woman to know them.

"More emphasis is given to practical results rather than paper ones. It's not too difficult to understand why." Natsu stated to Ultear. He didn't want to come off as completely uncaring to his course designation in front of one of the most prominent figures in the school.

Ultear shook her head left to right and proceeded to give Natsu a small smile.

"Not even I would be able to replicate that kind of perfect score, you know? I may not look like it, but I am much stronger in theory-based subjects. If I were to take an entrance exam with the same questions, I definitely won't be able to get such a high score like you, Natsu-kun." Ultear turned around to glance at the clock on one of the towers. "It's getting quite late, won't you walk with me to the ceremony?"

He didn't get a chance to respond as she took his hand and led him to the auditorium.

* * *

Natsu sighed as he sat down in a seat in the last row of the second section. His earlier plans of not drawing attention to himself and slipping under the radar were for naught as he had been dragged into the auditorium with one of the most beautiful woman, if not the most beautiful, in the school before she separated from him to prepare for her speech.

Needless to say, most eyes were on him as he exchanged farewells with the student council president and found a seat. The spotlight would have been on anyone at the moment, stares filled with jealousy, envy, rage, and such were typical, but it was worse for him as the Course 1 student noticed the lack of an emblem on his uniform. Though the glares had ceased after a few minutes of trying to burn holes through his skull.

As a result of all the time he had spent with Ultear, when he got to the auditorium over half of the seats were already filled up.

The seats were not assigned nor were set up in any specific order. However, there was already a clear designation of the seats for the freshmen.

The first half at the front were taken up by the Blooms. They were the freshmen who would be able to receive the full benefits of the school's curriculum. Whereas the second half at the back was taken up by the Weeds. Those who were only allowed to enroll in this school as reserves.

Even when they were both freshmen, who were becoming students of the same school on the same day, there was already cleanly divided into two groups.

Natsu looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. Even with all of the time he wasted, there were still fifteen minutes left until the main event.

"U-Um excuse me, but is the seat beside you occupied?" A shy voice asked him, catching his attention.

As expected from the tone of the voice, the student was female.

She was a girl of small stature and seemed a few years younger than him. Natsu noted that she was probably an up and coming prodigy who was placed in Course 2 to adjust to the school and would be moved to Course 1 after her first year. She had a petite build with fair skin, matching the 'cute' feel she gave off. She had chocolatey brown eyes and her long, dark blue hair was tied into pigtails by a pair of white ribbons.

"No, help yourself." Natsu offered, motioning his hand to the seats.

The young girl gave a slight bow and took the seat next to his, beside her an older boy, about the same age as Natsu, also sat down. It seemed that the two of them were looking for a place where they could sit down together.

"U-Um..." The voice spoke out once again, causing Natsu to turn to the girl. "I'm Wendy Marvel, it's nice to meet you."

How unexpected, he hadn't been expecting to introduce herself. It was rather rude to make assumptions based off of someone's appearance alone, but from his earlier interaction with the girl, she seemed rather shy though it seemed that she was eager to try and make friends.

"I'm Natsu Vermillion. It is a pleasure to meet you as well Wendy." Natsu smiled softly, causing said girl to blush. Mavis always did say that he had a rugged and bad-boy look to him, so when he was so gentle it just turned women to putty in his hands. This had happened more than a handful of occasions to him in the past.

"And I'm Gray Milkovich, it's good to meet you as well. I see you've met my elder sister, she can be quite a handful can't she?" The teenager known as Gray asked rhetorically.

Gray's most prominent feature was his spiky black-colored hair. He also had dark blue eyes and a fairly muscular build. His skin tone was pale as well, though not as pale as Ultear's.

Natsu nodded to the man and answered his question.

"She wasn't as overbearing as I expected from the student council president, but she did draw far too much attention to me by literally dragging me to the ceremony." Natsu sighed.

Gray nodded in understanding. It would take someone who just met her a little time to understand how evil and sadistic that woman truly was. A shiver went down his spine just thinking about it.

"Did the two of you come from the same middle school?" Natsu asked while gesturing to the two of them. "The two of you seem to already know each other."

Gray's answer was an unexpected one. He seemed to be more easygoing and talkative than the girl.

"Nope, we just met for the first time at the information board. he girl seemed lost so I figured I'd help her out." He said while sticking his thumb out at the girl. "Apparently she's not very good with directions."

"I'm sorry..." Wendy apologized meekly. "I didn't bring my data terminal because the school doesn't allow the virtual models."

Gray seemed to overreact to her sudden teary expression and began waving his arms in front of his face.

"Hey don't cry, I didn't mean it. It was a joke, just a joke."

Wendy still seemed a bit withdrawn after recovering, but that was replaced by a look of embarrassment as Natsu began to pat the girl on the head and rub her hair teasingly. He had always done this with Mavis when she was sad, and it always worked.

"Cheer up Wendy, no need to get so worked up over something like that." Natsu replied with a toothy grin, causing her head to start steaming. Maybe this girl was one of those types who was forced to focus on her studies instead of interacting with others. It certainly didn't help that she looked about fourteen when all of the other freshmen where sixteen.

"Wow, you really know how to deal with women Natsu. Do you think you could teach me to do that?" Gray asked, a small amount of respect laced into his voice.

Natsu shook his head left to right.

"Sorry...but women... are a very strange and complex species, even more so than magicians." Natsu closed his eyes and began his lecture. "Even with an entire life's worth of experience in dealing with their kind, most of it is still guess work. I believe that is what makes them so delicate and beautiful. Each one of them is completely different from the next and will react differently to you. Dealing with women as a whole is a trial and error process. You must find your own method and adapt to them as they continue to evolve."

Gray was listening animatedly as his newfound friend stated his theory on interactions with women, while Wendy could only sweatdrop at their conversation. Were they really two years older than her?

"Unfortunately this will have to continue at a later point in time as it appears that the ceremony is about to begin." Natsu suggested dismissively.

All three freshmen turned their heads to the stage and noticed that the principal of First High School was walking up to the podium. The rest of the auditorium also fell into silence as the lights dimmed and the processions began.

* * *

Mavis was usually a very happy and cheerful girl, some may even call her a little childish. How can she not be? Every morning she gets to wake up in her Onii-sama's loving embrace and snuggle in closer to his chest, savoring every second of it that she could. His scent, his touch, his warmth, she loved it all and it would put her into her usual upbeat mood for the rest of the day.

However, today was not her usual day.

The only enjoyable parts of her day so far were waking up in her Onii-sama's arms and enjoying his home-cooked breakfast with him feeding her.

Everything went downhill after leaving the house that her Onii-sama had bought in a Tokyo neighborhood right in between the temple that he has started training at once again and the school.

They still owned their estate in Magnolia, but they would be spending a majority of their time in Tokyo over the next three years.

Her mood began to worsen as they day progressed. She even yelled at her Onii-sama after finding out that he had been ranked as a Course 2 student. She was so ashamed of herself for not being able to control her emotions like he had taught her to.

Then they had to part ways because she had to rehearse her speech that she would give because she was the freshmen class representative. It was supposed to be the student with the highest scores that was the freshmen representative. It should have been her Onii-sama. Though she could understand why he wouldn't even want the title anyway. He even said he was looking forward to her address.

She had spent the last two hours being showered with praise and greeted by people whom she had no desire of getting to know. They only wanted to get in her good graces because she was the freshmen representative.

What really shattered what was left of her good mood was when she saw her Onii-sama enter the auditorium holding hands with such a beautiful woman. Mavis was beautiful beyond belief, most men would be left a drooling mess at her feet by just giving them a smile, but this woman was gorgeous and gave off such a mature and refined aura.

She was also slightly jealous of the woman's figure. Mavis may have been beautiful, but she was still a growing girl. She looked down to her budding B-cup breasts and let out a sigh of disappointment. Perhaps her Onii-sama liked women with such voluptuous figure better.

Mavis sat through both the principal's and student council president's on the stage with these thoughts running through her head.

It was now her turn to speak to the freshmen class.

She stood up and gracefully walked to the podium, causing the entire freshmen class to perk up.

-"Wow! The freshmen representative is really beautiful, huh?"

-"She's the top of the class too!"

-"She looks like she came from royalty!"

Mavis would always be her Onii-sama's pride and joy. She could not and would not disappoint him here, when he had been looking forward to her address so much. No matter how jealous she was.

Mavis took a deep breath as she closed her eyes to feel for her Onii-sama's presence. When she opened them back up again, her emerald eyes met his onyx ones. His eyes were filled with love, encouragement, and pride. His eyes were on her and her alone. This was enough encouragement she needed to give the speech that he desired to hear so much.

Her calm expression vanished and was replaced by one which royalty would use that gave off a gentle, yet powerful feeling. She smiled elegantly, at the thought of her Onii-sama watching her. A smile so elegant and dazzling that everybody in the audience could not help but be captivated by her beauty.

At the sight of a woman of such grace, elegance, and beauty in front of them, many of the male students had already been reduced to nothing more than lovesick fools who could only ever dream of her smiling just for them. Even the female members of the audience couldn't help but blush and stare on enviously at the girl in front of them.

She was alluring...captivating...enticing...and oh so beautiful.

Mavis payed not one member of the audience any mind. They were nothing more than people who desired to use her for their own purposes, whatever they may be. As far as she was concerned, this speech was to her Onii-sama and no one else.

She would be his perfect little girl.

The little girl that he had raised on his own for over eight years.

The little girl that he dirtied his hands and went to war for.

The little girl that he had put his life on the line for.

The little girl that he became a demon for.

The little girl that would always be there for him, even when his own family was not.

His daughter.

His little sister.

Perhaps one day something even more.

She will not disappoint him.

* * *

Mavis's orientation speech was flawless as expected.

Though Natsu never had any doubts that she would slip up or make a fool of herself.

She had easily captured the hearts of all of the male freshmen population. Not only that, but Natsu had noticed many of the upperclassmen staring at her with hearts in their eyes as well. Her innocence and modesty coupled with her natural beauty made sure of that.

She would certainly be the talk of the school from today onwards. It was not uncommon for this to happen. Every year since Natsu had enrolled her in middle school within the first two days she became part of the student council and turned into something of a school idol. Natsu took pride in this.

He had wanted to commend her immediately afterwards, but he was sure that many of the Blooms would be doing the same to get into her good graces and become friends with her. The student council would also have business with her. Then there was the fact that the issuing of ID cards only took place right after the ceremony ended.

As of now, he had already received his ID card and was standing in an entranceway just outside of the auditorium. Gray and Wendy had also received their ID cards and they were engaged in a pleasant conversation.

"Natsu-san what class are you in?" Wendy asked with a face that could not hide her excitement. She was still somewhat of a child, so it was easy for her to get riled up.

"I'm in Class E." Natsu answered after looking down at his ID card. He had expected to be much lower.

Wendy smiled brightly at Natsu's reply.

"We're in the same class Natsu-san! Please take care of me this year!" Wendy asked while giving Natsu a small bow. She quite polite and respectful. Natsu had taken a liking to this young girl, it wasn't like him to be making friends on the first day.

"Oi, I'm in Class E too. What are the odds huh?" Gray asked after checking what class he was in.

First High School has eight year one classes, with each class holding twenty five students. The Course 1 students were placed into classes A-D and the Course 2 students were placed into classes E-H.

Their placement into the class was based on both the practical exam and the written exam. Those with both high practical scores and high written scores would be placed in Course 1 Class A. Mavis would most likely be placed in that class. Those with poor practical scores, but with high written scores would be placed into Course 2 Class E. This is where Natsu was.

There could be any kind of combination to result in the students' placement, so it was by pure luck that the three of them ended up in the same class.

"What do you want to do? Take a look at our homeroom as well?" Gray asked as he looked up at Natsu.

Wendy also turned to Natsu. It seemed as if he became something like their group leader or something.

They wouldn't receive a homeroom teacher, so there really wasn't much point in checking out their homeroom. The idea of homeroom teachers had been abandoned years ago. With the limited budget the school received, they couldn't afford to waste resources on something like that. Instead data terminals took their place and were connected throughout the entire school.

Homerooms were merely where the practical and experimental lessons would be held.

"Sorry, but I'm meeting up with my little sister. She should be meeting me around here after she finishes up in the auditorium." Natsu answered as he shook his head.

He and Mavis had already agreed to head back home and finish getting settled in as soon as they had finished their orientation. They had only move back to Tokyo a week ago and had yet to get everything squared away in their new home.

"Oohh...if it's Natsu-san's sister, then she must be really cute." Wendy commented trying to imagine what his sister would look like.

Natsu didn't know how to answer the girl. She had to be cute because she was his sister? Well Mavis was quite cute, but what did she mean about him?

Girls were strange. He'd leave it at that for the day.

"Might your little sister be...the freshmen representative, Mavis Vermillion-san?" Gray questioned, already putting the pieces together.

This time Natsu only nodded to confirm his question, and earning a gasp from Wendy.

"Oohh I was right! I had never seen a girl so beautiful before in my life..." Wendy sighed enviously.

A shiver went down Gray's spine as his fears were confirmed.

"If she is the freshmen representative...then she's sure to be recruited by that woman...damn I need to get the hell out of here!" Gray slowly pieced the information together and looked like he was about to bolt down the hallway, before a voice spoke out.

"Who do you need to get away from?" A soothing, yet threatening voice said.

Gray froze once again and slowly turned around in a robotic fashion, Wendy and Natsu also turned around to see who he was so scared of.

"Onii-sama!" Another more feminine voice sang out as she clung onto Natsu's arm after escaping the crowd of students who had been pestering her ever since the ceremony ended.

She had always hated the praise of anyone other than her Onii-sama, especially when those praises weren't sincere and were only meant for the person's own personal gain. Those Course 1 students had clearly been trying to drag her into their circle of friends so that they could say they were friends with the freshmen representative.

She wanted no part of that, she just wanted to see her Onii-sama.

Accompanying Mavis was none other than Ultear Milkovich. Now it all made sense as to why Gray was acting so out of place.

"Hello Natsu-kun. Its nice to see you again."

It seemed that they were already on a first name basis.

Natsu gave a slight nod to the woman, remembering what she had practically demanded to be called, though it was far too embarrassing and inappropriate for a place like this. Especially in front of Mavis, there was no telling what she would do to him.

He could already hear all the whispers about a Course 2 student being the freshmen representative's brother, he didn't want to hurt Mavis's reputation even further.

"It is a pleasure to meet you again Ultear-senpai."

Apparently she was not pleased as she wiggled her finger in front of Natsu's face before she began poking it into his highly muscular chest.

"No, no no. I thought I told you to either call me Ultear-chan, Ul-chan, or even Ul-tan."

"I don't think that'll be happening any time soon."

The student council president began to pout at Natsu's deadpanned response.

Natsu couldn't help but sweatdrop at his Senpai's antics. He turned to Gray for help in dealing with his sister, only to find that he had made his escape a long time ago.

Even stranger than Ultear's strange response, was his little sister's.

She appeared to be quickly looking back and forth between Ultear and Wendy with an irritated expression on her face. She appeared to be quite bothered by the two women who had been trying to win her Onii-sama's affections, at least in her opinion.

"Onii-sama..." Mavis spoke in a sickly sweet tone. "Who are these two women to you?...Isn't it a little too soon to be dating your classmate and senpai?" She asked jealously as she cutely tilted her head to the side, biting her lip to prevent a frown from breaking out on her face.

The other two weren't doing much better as Wendy's head was letting out steam once again, how was that even possible?, and even Ultear had a slight blush on her face.

It seemed that immediately after the ceremony she had been bombarded with flattery and questions left and right, resulting in plenty of accumulated stress.

"This is Wendy Marvell, I just met her before the entrance exam ceremonies, and you should already know the student council president. I only just met them both today, and while they are both quite lovely, it wouldn't be possible for us to be dating already."

She pouted slightly at her Onii-sama complementing other girls, but knew he didn't mean it like that. She figured she should at least introduce herself since the new girl looked like her Onii-sama's friend.

"Good day Marvell-san. I am Mavis Vermillion, it is nice to meet you. I am also a freshman just like Onii-sama." Mavis introduced herself with a bow.

"A-Ah I am Wendy Marvell, I look forward to being in your care this year Vermillion-san."

"You may call me Mavis if you like."

"Ah, okay then you can call me Wendy."

Natsu was glad to see the two girls getting along. Mavis didn't have many close friend back in middle school because of her status as the school idol, she was viewed as something untouchable and fragile. Because of that, the most she ever had were acquaintances. It was good to see her get along with a girl close to her age.

They even had quite a few similarities amongst them.

Though it seemed that the group that had followed Mavis and Ultear were not very pleased at the freshmen representative associating with Course 2 students. Had the student council president not been standing there, then they may have already spoken out against it.

Natsu was growing irritated at the group that was waiting for Mavis as if she belonged to them.

"Mavis. Are you done with you business with the student council? If not, I don't mind waiting around here until you're finished." Natsu suggested as the girls turned to him.

"No need to worry, I was just here to greet the new freshmen representative today." It was Ultear who answered Natsu's question. "Mavis-san...may I call you that as well?"

Mavis answered with a nod. She had thought that she would have to deal with them today as well.

"Well then Mavis-san, I shall take my leave. We'll talk some other time." She stated before turning to Natsu. "Natsu-kun as well, I'd love to get a chance to talk to you one of these days."

After bidding them farewell Ultear left. Not long after the group that had been following the two beauties dispersed as well, but not before glaring at Natsu, leaving Natsu, Mavis, and Wendy behind.

Today Natsu had gotten into one of the few arguments him and Mavis had over the years, somehow managed to get acquainted with the student council president, gained the attention of the entire freshmen class for a bit of time, met two fellow Course 2 students who he seemed to get along with, and now earned the displeasure of many of the Blooms. Life was much easier when he was just a simple bounty hunter.

"I'm sorry Onii-sama. Because of me, people are getting a bad impression of you." Mavis said with a bit of a disappointed voice.

"There's no need to apologize. I didn't exactly expect to make friends with any of them. In fact, this all went better than I had previously thought." Natsu commented.

Natsu brought his hand up and placed it on Mavis' head from the side and ran his fingers through her hair. As he continued to gently stroke her hair, her downcast face became intoxicated with delight as she leaned in closer to his touch.

Wendy was blushing up a storm, as she could only watch as the two siblings appeared to be approaching a dangerous boundary. Normally, she would have said something but having only just met them, Wendy chose to remain quiet.

"Ah Wendy-chan, why don't you join us for a cup of tea on the way home?" Mavis asked while still in Natsu's arms.

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to impose." Wendy asked shyly.

"Of course! I could really use a cup of tea after all the stress those students caused me. Besides there's supposed to be a really good cake shop around here!" Mavis said with stars in her eyes.

Somehow Natsu felt that her obsession with sweets was his fault. Perhaps it was a mistake taking her out to that cake shop where she first had strawberry cheesecake. Kami knows how many headaches its caused him over the years.

"That sounds like a good idea, why don't you come along Wendy? I would have asked Gray as well, but he ran away when his sister was still here." Natsu suggested.

"Gray?" Mavis hadn't met someone named Gray before.

"Black, spiky hair, about the same age as me, looked kind of like Ultear." Natsu told Mavis to give her an idea of who he was talking about.

"Hm...it doesn't matter right now. What matters is cake!" Mavis cheered before grabbing Natsu's and Wendy's hands and dragging them off towards the school gate.

Natsu and Wendy gave each other an amused look before giggling. It seemed that they would get along just fine.

If they had stayed a moment later, they would have seen a pinkette staring at them with an expression of disbelief present on her face.

* * *

It was evening when Natsu and Mavis finally arrived home.

They had spent quite a bit of time with Wendy at the cake shop before going their separate ways. Oh how Natsu's wallet paid every time he had to satisfy Mavis's sweet tooth. Though this is what he had spent all those years bounty hunting and working as a Garou Knight for. It was all about the little things in life.

The house that Natsu had bought for them was just above average in size. There were two bathrooms, a rather large kitchen, a living room, and a single bedroom. Even after so many years, the two siblings couldn't bear to spend a night without being wrapped up in each other's arms. What really stood out though was the basement.

It wasn't exactly a basement per se, it was more like a large laboratory. This was probably the only home in all of Japan with their own CAD tuning equipment that was on par with what the military used.

Natsu had been interested in magic engineering ever since he could remember. Whether it was software, hardware, or even creating new kinds of magic he could do it all. Just because he didn't use a CAD for his specialized magic didn't mean he wasn't interested in things like this. He would never be able to trust someone with tuning Mavis's CAD, so he took matters into his own hands.

It was only after he delved into engraving magic that he could really excel in and test out what he made. The equipment itself was a gift from Hisui-hime for his three years of dedicated service to her as one of the best Garou Knights she'd ever had. It was such a shame for her that he had to move on with his life.

Natsu stepped out of the shower after relaxing as the hot water flowed down his skin. It was as expected, he was much more comfortable in war-zones than in a high school.

He faced the body length mirrors that were all over the large bathroom and took in his appearance.

The years had been far from kind to Natsu. While he had grown from the pacifistic naïve child into the rugged, handsome man he is today, it did not come without its price. From head to toe, his body was riddled with scars. He had obtained masterful control of his magic, but Kami he was not.

Each and every scar on his body was a reminder of who he was, the fights he'd been in, what he had been fighting for. He traced his hands over every scar on his body, it was something of a ritual for him to remind himself of them daily. The slash on his forehead that extended from the upper left corner of it to just above his inner left eyebrow. The long slash mark on the right side of his neck that couldn't be hid by a collar. The burns that reached from his right shoulder to his mid-bicep and down his entire right side. His completely burned right hand and forearm. The cross shaped scar on the left side of his lower abdomen. The slash and stab wounds he received all over his chest and abdomen. The burns he received all up his left leg.

He wasn't ashamed of them. No, they were proof that he had fought with his life on the line and survived. He didn't fight to die, he fought to see if he was truly alive. This only proved it.

A majority of the scars he received were from the most intense fight he ever had. It was the first time that he had ever come across another superpower, and needless to say, they were known as superpowers for a reason. The man was an elite operative of the Great Asian Alliance, a man by the name of Akainu. He had ungodly control over magma, an extremely powerful and unheard of form of magic.

Akainu had him outclassed everywhere, experience, strategy, power, but it didn't matter. Akainu had thought that Havoc was a monster before the battle even started. He realized he was wrong, Havoc was the reincarnation of the devil himself. No matted how many times the masked magician was hit, melted, and burned, he got right back up. As if he didn't even feel pain.

After a grueling twenty-four hour battle, Natsu completely annihilated the man with a full powered **[Calamity: Tremor]** which produced massive cracks in the air and hit him with the full strength of a magnitude nine earthquake, tearing him into pieces and crushing him with so much pressure that not even blood remained of him. That was the birth of the second ring of fire, albeit that was a bit of an exaggeration by the reporters who covered the fallout of the titanic fight. Though that wasn't to say that fissures didn't tear apart the earth that put the Grand Canyon to shame which had been filled with flowing rivers of molten lava. That was the extent of the damage.

Natsu brought himself out of his thoughts and threw on a black, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pants before heading downstairs.

"Onii-sama, dinner will be ready in just a few minutes. Would you like something to drink in the meantime?"

"Sure. I'll have coffee."

He had taken a liking to the bitter drink during his days at war. He preferred the cheap, burnt taste of when it was made from whatever what was available, it sort of gave him a nostalgic feeling. But the premium, delicious taste of Mavis' professionally made coffee was also something he enjoyed.

"I'll get right on it."

Not a moment later did the faint sounds of the grinding of the beans and the bubbling of boiling water reach his ears.

Natsu's gaze turned to his little sister happily making his preferred beverage after he had take a seat on the couch.

Even with all of the technological advancement that had been made, clothing design had remained a constant since the beginning of the 21st century.

Mavis's beautiful shapely legs were revealed below her short skirt and a tight low-cut sweater that clung tightly to her chest. Her long, wavy hair was tied into a high pony-tail with a single white ribbon. She was incredibly beautiful.

For some reason, her fashion sense tended towards a more revealing nature at home. Natsu was more or less used to it, though her increased femininity due to it caused him to have problems removing his eyes from her.

A moment later, Mavis was standing next to him as she held out a cup on a small plate for him.

He offered her a gentle smile and accepted the cup from her, after which he proceeded to take a sip.

"Your coffee is always the best Mavis."

Just from those words alone, Mavis smiled. A smile that belonged to her Onii-sama and him alone.

As if nothing out of the usual had happened that day, the evening deepened into the night as usual for the two siblings.

* * *

Natsu awoke to the second day of his high school life, and it was quite ordinary.

Though sometimes ordinary was good. He couldn't count the number of times where he had woken up in a foreign prison cell or surrounded my magicians and soldiers alike, all intent on ending his life.

Sometimes he just enjoyed the peace and quiet. Though knowing his life, things wouldn't stay that way for long.

He yawned quietly and pulled the person sleeping in his arms in even closer.

Some would find it odd for two siblings to be sharing a bed at the age of sixteen, but these two siblings were far from normal. They couldn't go a single day without being in each other's arms of feeling the other's touch. Perhaps it was a side effect of only having each other all of these years. Whatever they case may be, there was no harm in sharing a bed.

Though how far that love transcends has yet to be determined.

Even though he would love nothing more than to hold his precious little sister in his arms all day, the world didn't stop rotating on his wishes alone. Perhaps he should figure out if it could? No that would definitely turn out bad.

Natsu quietly got out of bed and got dressed in his usual training attire, a black long-sleeved shirt, a pair of black pants, a pair or workout shoes, and the usual black glove on his right hand. He walked into the bathroom to lightly wash his face, since he would no doubt need a shower later.

When he stepped back into their bedroom, he noticed that Mavis was no longer there.

 _'Hm? It's not even 6:00 am yet. She usually prefers to sleep in.'_

He slowly walked downstairs and saw that Mavis had already began to make breakfast.

"Good morning Mavis, You're quite early today."

It was still the break of dawn and there were no signs of the sun coming up anytime soon.

Far too early to go to school. The first lesson of the day started right at 8:00 am. Commuting would only take around five minutes with their skills, Mavis knew many **[Movement-Type Spells]** and Natsu as Havoc was praised as one of the fastest magicians alive. Even with eating, cleaning up, getting ready, they would still have hours of extra time.

"Good morning Onii-sama...I thought I'd come with you to you're morning training today." She said as she lifted up a picnic basket full of sandwiches that she had been preparing.

It seemed like she had been looking forward to coming along and Natsu didn't have the heart to say no to his princess.

"Well...then let's get going. It wouldn't bode well to be late for training after being back for only a week."

Mavis smiled and gave a cute wink that naturally brought a smile to his face.

* * *

After a ten minute long commute, Natsu and Mavis finally arrived to the temple where Natsu had learned ninjutsu when he was younger.

Though this wasn't really a temple in any sense of the word.

Mavis gracefully walked through the gates and headed to the main hall of the temple.

As to what Natsu was currently occupied with...he was met with a rather violent reception at the main gate.

When one first starts training at the temple, one would start of with sparring against a single person at a time, however that wasn't the case at the moment. Right now, close to thirty middle and lower ranked disciples were surrounding Natsu and continuously charging at him. What was happening could only described as a dance, as Natsu gracefully avoided fast strikes and delivered his own, dealing with them quite easily. They never stood a chance.

"Ah Mavis-kun! It has been a long time." A relaxed voice called out as a man in his mid-thirties walked out of the temple's main hall and into the training grounds.

The man had azure hair and dark eyes, but what really drew people's attention was the large red tattoo on the right side of his face. He adorned a dark blue cloak and his arms and legs were mostly covered in bandages. On his back were four magical staves, which were held by a green strap that wrapped around his body. In his hand was his fifth and final magical stave.

This man was Mystogan Fernandes, the head monk of this temple and a practitioner of ancient magic

"It is good to see you as well Mystogan-sensei. I hope that you do not mind me tagging along with Onii-sama."

The man before her let out a small chuckle.

"Of course not. It seems as if your brother is already finished with his warm up exercises."

As he said those words he quickly turned around and raised his left arm above his head to block an oncoming downward chop.

"You've gotten much better. I was barely able to sense you coming towards me this time." Mystogan praised as he jumped to avoid a sweep kick from his student.

As he came down he lashed out from the right, forcing Natsu to bring up his left arm in a standard guard to block the kick.

As expected Natsu didn't budge an inch from the powerful strike, whereas any normal person, whether it be soldier or magician, would have been sent flying across the courtyard.

"You've become quite sturdy." Mystogan commented as he effortly somersaulted forward and aimed a kick at the back of Natsu's head.

Natsu leaned forward and turned his dodge into a handspring as he turned around and landed on his feet.

The two looked at each other for a moment before charging.

This was a common occurrence at the temple.

* * *

Natsu, Mavis, and Mystogan were currently on the veranda, enjoying the sandwiches that Mavis had prepared earlier that morning. Natsu's training had finished a while ago and now they were taking their time to cool off and relax.

Sparring sessions with Mystogan were always as intense as today, the man was strong enough to be considered one of the Ten Wizard Saints. He rejected their offer though, seeing as he already had a temple to run and enjoyed passing down the teachings of ninjutsu to the new generation.

Mavis had already finished her breakfast and was politely sitting there while servicing her Onii-sama, handing him more sandwiches and refilling his cup with tea. Some things never changed, Natsu always did have a monstrous appetite. Mystogan was just finishing up his sandwich as well.

The older man put his hands together and gave Mavis a small bow. "Thank you for the food Mavis-kun, it was most delicious."

"There is no need for your thanks sensei. This is the least I could do for taking care of Onii-sama for all the years that he's trained here." Mavis replied, wiping the crumbs off of Natsu's face after he finished the last sandwich.

Natsu had trained at this temple even before he had met Mavis. He only stopped his training when they moved to Magnolia over four years ago, but even then he still went through his exercises and the regimen that Mystogan had designed.

"Though if you don't mind, there are some things that I must discuss with Natsu-kun in private." He asked politely as to not offend the young woman before him. "They are regarding his duties outside of high school and are of the utmost importance."

Mavis immediately understood what he was referencing. Mystogan was the only one besides her who knew that he was a bounty hunter and what his current profession is.

She made her way to her feet and gave a small boy to the man.

"I'll take my leave then. When you're finished with your conversation, Onii-sama, I'll be waiting for you at the main gates." With those words she quickly cleaned up what was left of their breakfast and left.

As soon as she was out of sight, the two remaining immediately looked at each other with a serious expression. There was an unspoken rule of never to mention Natsu's professional life unless the situation was grave enough.

"How serious are things master?" Natsu asked as he clasped his hands together and placed his elbows on his knees, resting his chin on his hands.

Mystogan may have been a monk, but he had many connections throughout the magical world. If he was worried about something, it was sure to get the attention of all of Japan if it was not dealt with accordingly.

"Very. Though I'm sure you'll be hearing about it soon enough, I'd just thought I'd inform you in advance."

"What is it?"

Mystogan sighed. He wished he could do something, but he didn't have the evidence or authority to do so.

"My younger brother, Jellal."

Natsu raised an eyebrow at the statement, but didn't say anything.

"I've been hearing some rather unsettling rumors about him lately. Not to mention all of the spirits that I've been having track him are either destroyed...He constantly disappears into somewhere on the Pacific Ocean...I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen regarding him soon."

Natsu kept quiet for a moment. There had been a time where he trusted Jellal and saw him as something of an older brother figure, but he had always felt that there was something off about the man as well. Especially after seeing how much he had changed over the past few years.

"And when something does happen?"

There was a moment of silence between the two.

"Kill him or help him. I don't know what the situation will be like, but if there's no going back for him...please, I would prefer you be the one to kill him."

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "You're asking me to kill your own brother?"

Mystogan sighed. The relationship between him and his younger brother was nonexistent. Ever since the death of their parents and the rest of their family in the early years of the Asian War, Jellal had changed drastically. He became obsessed with a dark mage know as Zeref soon after that and, although he claims to have gotten over that stage of his life, Mystogan believed that Jellal was still just as fanatical about him.

He had done some research on the man known as Zeref, and what he found disturbed him greatly.

Zeref was a mage that was said to have created armies of demons, resurrected the dead, and even waged a magical war on the entire world. The records he found documented that the man had existed far before the year X700, which is the earliest year that was recorded in modern history. There were many more records, of that the world was certain, but all of them had been lost throughout time. Though ancient records did pop up every now and then

If Jellal was really involved with something dealing with this man or anything he left behind, it was sure to be disastrous.

"If I am correct in what he's involved in...it's already too late for him."

Natsu saw the pained look on his master's face and relented with his curiosity, he would deal with it should the time come.

* * *

Technology had advanced by leaps and bounds ever since the start of the 21st century, this included transportation.

While there were no flying cars or self-sustaining jetpacks as of yet, transportation had been one of the first targets of this advancement. In general, both commuting to school and work was now accomplished via mini railcars in depots that leave on a systematic schedule. They were similar, but yet so different, to busses and trains that had been frequently used during the dawn of the century. The concept of a 'full train' is a concept of the past.

Not only trains, but all major forms of public transportation have undergone drastic changes throughout the century.

Large vehicles that were once used to accommodate dozens of passengers in designated seats were no longer used, except in high speed long haul cases.

A small vehicle called the Cabinet, which consisted of two to four seat car linked to a central control system, was now what was most often used for public transportation.

Both power and energy were derived from the tracks, therefore there was no need for a large design or any extra mechanisms within the Cabinets themselves, so the size is about half the size of a self-propelled car of the same capacity.

People line up sequentially on a platform to board these Cabinets, that derive the destination from either the ticket or pass, then move along the tracks to the set destination. Because of this, the commute is often quite short since there is less traffic and no extra stops required.

The tracks are divided into three speeds and there is a traffic control system that manages the flow of traffic, as well as overseeing the transitioning of cars from the slow tracks to the high speed tracks, the shift from high speed back to slow as the car approaches its destination, and the docking of the car at the destination platform.

It isn't too much different from changing lanes while on the highway, and such a high density operation was only made possible thanks to advances in control technology, as it's necessary to securely consolidate the running of dozens of cars that transport the same amount as large vehicles would have in the past.

The Cabinet has no security camera or microphone, such a thing would be an invasion of privacy in such a confined space.

Once the Cabinet is moving, it is impossible to get out of the car or leave your seat. There are also emergency bulkheads that separate the seats.

These Cabinets have the same amount of privacy that a private car would. There are Cabinets with security measures that seat only one passenger, or one can ride in a two seat car alone. Occupying a car with four seats with two or fewer people incurs a surcharge.

Natsu and Mavis are commuting to school together in one of these Cabinets today as well.

"How do you think things will go today Onii-sama?" Mavis asked a bit hesitantly.

She was excited, she really was, Natsu had worked so hard to be able to afford the best magic education for her in the country and she was grateful for that. But she was also worried. Now the two of them would be in the spotlight for all to see, and she had no doubt that garner quite a bit attention from the student populace. Including the heirs for the Dragneel and Heartflia clan.

Natsu, who had been looking over the news on his terminal screen, heard his sister's worried voice and quickly looked over to her.

"Well...hiding for our entire lives would only be prolonging the inevitable. And what kind of lives would we be living if we were afraid of even our own shadows...things may get a little rough, but I'll be right by your side."

She seemed a little relieved at her Onii-sama's words, though something did come to mind when she thought about what would happen through the course of the day.

"Did you see any people yesterday that you knew from your past?" She asked, genuinely curious. Natsu didn't get along with most of the people he knew when he was still a Dragneel, so they might be an even bigger pain to deal with than the rest of the Course 1 students.

Natsu could only sigh an nod his head, knowing they would make quite the commotion about him returning after being missing for over four years.

"Who?" Mavis questioned, clenching onto her skirt tightly.

She did not care to meet any of the people that he once knew, after all the stories he had told her about his past life. He was her Onii-sama, she had the right to know everything about him.

"Well...yesterday I only caught a glimpse of a few, but I can name the middle Strauss siblings and Meredy. There are probably more too...I also know for a fact that Lucy Hearfilia will be attending First High School."

Mavis could only sigh at the mention of her half-sisters from both sides of her family.

"There's no point in worrying about it at the moment, just be prepared if they choose to confront you about our relationship. It's likely that they have no idea that you're their half-sister." Natsu suggested as he patted the girl next to him on the head.

"If you say so Onii-sama..."

Their was considerable reluctance in her voice, but she nodded nonetheless.

Natsu breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help but feel sorry for his little sister. She would most likely forced to deal with most of her newfound fans in the freshmen Course 1 class and then would have to deal with explaining her relationship to him. It would be a long day for the both of them.

In spite of their dilemma, the train moved on steadily as it began the transition to the slow lane, signifying that they were almost at their destination.

* * *

The last time Natsu had ever gone to school was when he was still a child. He had stopped going to elementary school shortly after the kidnapping incident years ago.

Now that he thought about it, how was he even here if he hadn't graduated elementary school? Oh yeah, that's right, he hacked into the government's database and created two new identities for him and Mavis. Complete with school records, both falsified and real, and the like.

There was not much point in going either, it would have only been a waste of time. He couldn't imagine a world where Mavis wasn't his priority, and school would have gotten in the way of that.

Natsu walked into the class E homeroom and was greeted with a considerable amount of chaos. It was more than likely that all of the other classes, no matter if they were Course 1 or Course 2, had scenes such as the one before him playing out in their classrooms as well.

Many of the students had just met each other yesterday, and they had already began forming groups of friends that they would be spending the rest of the year with. It was predictable, to them high school was all about fitting in. To be honest, it wasn't much different then high school at the beginning of the century, just add in a bit of magic and some more advanced technology and you had a perfect copy.

There was no assigned seating, as each terminal would access the data you input with your ID card, so he took a seat at a terminal in the far right corner of the room right next to the window. The seats around the terminal he chose were empty, he wouldn't be able to stand the other students' constant chatter. Their auras gave off a feeling of naïvety and ignorance, it would not be worth getting to know any of them.

Natsu quickly inserted his ID card into the terminal and began manually inputting all the necessary data that the school required. Information such as school regulations, school policy, disciplinary regulations and rules, facility use, dress code, restriction of CADs, student related activities, counseling, curriculum for the semester, and so much more were burned into his memory as he typed into the terminal at speeds not thought possible.

As soon as that was finished, he began selecting the electives that he would take this semester. He knew most of the curriculum for this year already, that much was certain just from memorizing what would be taught throughout the course of the class, but he had no choice but to take electives due to the school's policy. Magic engineering seemed like the optimal choice since he rather enjoyed the subject and wouldn't mind starting from the basics again, even though he was already at a high enough level to design his own CADs and magic sequences.

"Natsu-san!"

His ears perked up as he heard a soft, feminine voice yell his name.

He looked up and noticed that Wendy had just occupied the terminal in front of him and had turned around to great him.

"Good morning you two." A tired voice spoke up from beside the two as he took a seat at the terminal to Natsu's right.

"Is it? You're not looking so good Gray." Natsu commented after he had greeted Wendy.

It was true, his skin was slightly more pale than the day before and there was bags under his eyes. His uniform was also slightly wrinkled.

"Ah...my sister was on my case all morning about the start of the school year...I think she just likes to ruin my mornings... Damned woman woke me up at the crack of dawn to give me a lecture about what the first year of high school is like and what I should expect...I think she just likes being in her president mode." Gray mumbled after letting out a yawn.

Natsu just finished up inputting the last of his data and proceeded to remove his ID card from the terminal.

"Hm...can't say I understand what your going through. I woke up at 5am for early morning training and I feel perfectly fine." Natsu commented while placing his ID card back into his jacket pocket.

"For some reason I feel left out..." Wendy stated with a cute tilt of the head and placing her index finger on her chin. "Is it normal to get up at dawn for the start of the day? I don't know much about high school life, but it was my understanding that they preferred to sleep in."

Natsu turned to face Wendy and Gray lifted his head off the desk to respond to the younger girl.

"Don't listen to the man Wendy. You're young, enjoy your life. I'd sleep in if I could, but unfortunately I have the student council resident as a sister...that reminds me, what were you training in Natsu? While I don't neglect my own training, you don't really need to practice magic so early in the morning do you?"

"I was training my body, just because I am a magician does not mean I would let my physical skills degrade, I also prefer to focus on hand to hand combat. My practical skills are severely lacking, so I'm planning on becoming a Magic Engineer." Natsu responded as he leaned back in his chair.

It wasn't a total lie. He was interested in magic engineering, but he wasn't planning to work for a company or anything. No, he would always personally design Mavis' CADs and her more specialized magic sequences. Though his practical skills weren't exactly lacking, only his ability with generic magic.

Magic Engineers, or Magic Artificers, are abbreviations for magic engineering specialists and refer to the ones who coordinate, develop, and manufacture the machinery that amplifies, strengthens, and assists with magic.

In terms of social standing, they are below that of professional magicians. However, their demand in industry is far greater because of how much modern day magicians rely of CADs. The income of a top Magic Engineer can readily surpass that of a top magician.

Highly skilled Magic Engineers can even develop new magic sequences and create new types of magic and individual spells.

It's not uncommon for those who lack magic power or work ethic to strive to become Magic Engineers.

"Natsu-san, you're striving to be a Magic Engineer! That's amazing...I'm still unsure which direction to go with my life." Wendy started upbeat, but gradually grew solemn.

Natsu noticed the girl's downcast expression and couldn't help but feel his older brother instincts taking over.

He gently rubbed the girls hair, causing her to look up at him.

"Have a little faith in yourself Wendy. I only just met you yesterday and yet, I can already tell that you'll be capable of great things, so don't worry about it too much right now. Cheer up, I don't like seeing you sad." Natsu encouraged, giving the girl a toothy grin, causing her to blush slightly.

Gray looked over at the scene before collapsing his arms and head on his terminal once again. "Can you two stop with the lovey dovey act for a few minutes, I'm trying not to gag over here...I swear you were doing this yesterday too...never mind, just get a room and let me sleep."

Before either of them could retort to Gray's teasing, the first bell rang and students began to dissipate from their groups to take a seat.

This system had not changed much from the previous era, although there were some glaring differences.

All of the offline terminals started up automatically and those that had already been on refreshed their screens. At the same time, a message appeared on the screen at the front of the class.

"-Orientation begins in five minutes, so please take a seat in any available desk. Students who have not yet inserted their ID card and inputted the necessary data, please do so at this time-"

Natsu disregarded this message, as he had already finished registering for classes and selecting his electives. Really, he could leave right now and it would not make a difference. The first day of school was used primarily for registering for classes and electives, touring the school facilities, and visiting the specialized classrooms.

Just as he was about to get up and leave, two unexpected things happened.

Accompanied by the bell, the door to the classroom opened.

It was not a late student, instead of the school uniform, the woman was wearing a revealing green dress.

The woman had long, curly light brown hair and a rather voluptuous figure. Her eyes were a shade of dark brown and on her lips was a shade of pink lipstick. Most notable were the glasses she wore, in this day and age visual impairments could easily be fixed. This meant that she possessed a pair of special eyes and those glasses were to prevent them from activating unconsciously. Her dress was low-cut and revealed a fair amount of cleavage, causing most of the males in the room to drool over her.

As everyone watched, the beautiful and exceptionally charming woman made her way over to the teacher's desk and faced the class.

Natsu wasn't the only one who was struck with a sense of surprise, but the whole class.

In schools that have adapted online courses, there is no teacher who stands at the front of the class. Since the classes themselves are conducted through terminals, there is even less of a reason to send teachers to a classroom to deliver lectures and lessons. Course 1 were the only ones to receive personal instruction, but even then, that is only the case for lessons regarding theory, application, and practical lessons.

Though this woman didn't exactly look like a teacher with the way she was dressed.

"Good, it doesn't seem like anyone is absent. It'd be a shame to miss the first day of your high school experience..." The woman began to speak. "First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you for being accepted into First High School, it is quite an accomplishment."

Many of the students even returned her bow or even muttered words of thanks, but Natsu only tilted his head at the woman standing before the class.

There is no need to verify attendance by looking around with the naked eye. The ID cards that were inserted into the terminals would update seating status as soon as the necessary data was updated.

This woman wasn't even dressed like a teacher would be.

Just who was this woman.

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm the integration counselor for this school, Evergreen. My surname is not important at this time, you may just call me Evergreen. My purpose here is to establish a mentoring relationship with each of you in case any of you feel like you would like counseling in regards to specialized aspects of your course." The now named Evergreen spoke.

 _'Come to think of it, that was one of the main attractions to the school. The free specialized counseling for all kinds of issues, whether they be related to magic or not.'_ Natsu recalled.

Having someone to talk about your issues and concerns with was a foreign concept to Natsu. He was a child soldier, a former bounty hunter, an unofficial soldier who fought during the latter years of the Asian War. For a person who had killed tens of thousands of people without batting an eyelash or feeling a hint of remorse, there was nothing he needed a counselor for. Though he did understand why some people would need one. Magic high school was rather stressful and demanding for normal people, so the fact that the school had a counseling system was one of its selling points.

The woman continued to speak as Natsu thought to himself.

"There are sixteen such counselors at First High School. We are grouped in pairs of men and woman and will be responsible for one class in each grade. I am the female counselor that has been assigned to this class. Bickslow-sensei is the male counselor assigned to this class, but he unfortunately couldn't make it as he is having this talk with one of his other classes."

The woman took a breath to let all of the students absorb that information before continuing with her explanation.

"Counseling is also available through terminals, so if you do not have the time to come and see us directly, as we know your lives will be very busy soon enough, you can contact us this way. Communication is done through quantum encryption and none of what is said will be recorded, so your privacy is ensured. The school will fully support you all, so that you may each live a fulfilling life as a student to the fullest. As such, everyone, let's work hard together." She had been speaking rather informatively and seriously, but on that last note her tone softened.

All of the energy seemed to leak out of the room.

Both tension and relaxation, even able to calculate her body language, her emotional skill was excellent.

She appeared to be young and fresh out of university, but her experience was palpable.

If you spoke one-on-one with her, it would be easy to say more than you intended to. Natsu would have to limit his interactions with this woman.

With a small cough, her professional smile returned. "By now, the school curriculum and guides on the facilities should have already been sent to your terminals. After that, you will register for your electives, and that will be the end of orientation. If you have already familiarized yourself with the curriculum and facilities, you may skip this step and proceed straight to registration."

"For those who have already finished registration as well, yo may leave if you'd like. However, you may not do so after guidance has begun, so if you wish to do so, please leave now. If that is the case, make sure to not forget your ID card."

Natsu noticed that nobody had left. He was finished with all his registration, but there would not be much to occupy him if he did in fact leave. In the end, he decided that he'd wait for Wendy and Gray to finish the process and tour the school with them.

Evergreen looked up and noticed that nobody decided to leave, she took this as her cue to continue with the process.

It took quite a while to go through all the information, but the registration of all the students was complete and they could now tour the rest of the school facilities and the rest of the specialized classrooms. Evergreen had already given her farewells to the class and left to visit the other classes that she was in charge of. Most of the other students had already began filing out of the classroom to their desired destination, leaving only Natsu, Gray, and Wendy left in the classroom.

"Natsu, what are you going to do until lunch?" He heard Gray ask in a friendly tone.

It is no longer customary, in both middle schools and high schools, to eat lunch in the classroom, not that Natsu knew that. Despite advancements in both waterproofing and dust-proofing technology, information terminals remain precision instruments. If something were to spill all over them during a meal, the outcome would be miserable.

It'd be a much better idea to eat lunch in the cafeteria, courtyard, rooftop, or a club room. They would just stick to the cafeteria since the food was supposed to be quite good. School cafeterias no longer served inedible lunches, where students had to question whether or not it was still alive. It wasn't much better than Japanese fast food, but the students seemed to enjoy it.

Though the cafeteria didn't open for another hour, so they would have to kill some time until then.

"There isn't really anywhere in particular that interests me, so I suppose I'll just accompany you." Was Natsu's reply. There really wasn't anything of interest to him at this school. In fact, everything that this school had were nothing more than scraps compared to what he had the privilege of using at the Royal Palace.

Magic begins as a full-fledged education from the high school curriculum onwards. Middle schools and elementary schools have basic lessons and provide the foundation of the magic knowledge for those who do not belong to any clan. There are also cram schools for magic to get your technical and practical level to a standard that would be accepted at most of the magic high schools. There are often magic related extracurricular activities or clubs within public schools, but magic education really begins at the high school level.

Among all of the magic high schools, First High School is considered to most difficult to be accepted into. The fact that they are sitting in one of the classrooms of this school right now really says something about their skills, even if they are Course 2 students. A majority of the incoming freshmen class came from either clans or ordinary middle schools. That's why the second day is such an important event, there are classes on specialized magic courses that some of the students had never seen before.

In order to prevent confusion and help students become familiarized with these courses, all freshmen have the opportunity to go and observe classes that are currently in progress.

"Well, I was planning to go to the workshop...most of my family practices **[Ice Magic]** , I do as well to a certain extent. But I specialize more in swordsmanship and weaponry in general. I figured it'd be a good idea to learn to maintain my own weapons."

That wasn't so surprising. Judging from the man's physique, he appeared to focus more on training his body than his magic. He was in very good shape, even by Natsu's standards, which was good. Many magicians neglect their physical combat abilities because of their prowess in magic, but take away their CAD and their as helpless as a child.

"Well that sounds fine...Wendy want to come along with us?" Natsu questioned the bluenette sitting in front of him.

"Hm...well I don't have much of an interest in weapons and my body is kind of small to wield them...I suppose it'd be interesting to see the mechanics of a CAD and see how they're built." Wendy replied after nodding.

With that being said, the three of them stood up from their desks and made their way out of the classroom.

* * *

The scene in Class 1A was not too different from the going ons of Class 2E. Students were already in their own groups and were chatting away before class started. Had it been earlier in the century, the feel that the students gave off would be the same as shoving all of the popular students into a single room.

Their auras oozed arrogance, naïvety, entitlement, and ignorance to the outside world. These were the students that were expected to be the best and brightest for the future of Japan? How pitiful.

It seemed as if the future of Japan wouldn't be as bright as they thought. These students wouldn't last ten minutes on the battlefield as they were right now, and yet they walked into the classroom as if they owned the world.

However there was only one group of any real importance that had arrived so far. And that group consisted of four of the people that Natsu and Mavis did not want to deal with. Those people were Meredy Dragneel, Lisanna Strauss, Elfman Strauss, and Lucy Heartfilia.

Lisanna, Elfman, and Lucy were happily chatting away at topics that didn't really matter at all, while Meredy had been quiet since she first took her seat at the terminal.

Though the two siblings with silver hair seemed to be turning towards the front of the class to glare menacingly at another silver-haired girl, Yukino Strauss, their younger sister who had always been their parents' favorite. The younger silverette paid no attention to them however, and continued to speak with another student.

The two middle Strauss siblings had been friends with Meredy for as long as either of them could remember. It was a result of their two clans being long-term allies, they had been introduce when they were only children but immediately hit it off. The story with how they met Lucy though was a little more complicated.

Apparently, the Heartfilia family was near bankruptcy because of poor investments and the end of both World War Three and the Asian War. They were the largest weapons manufacturers in Japan, but weapons had slowly on the decline since magicians proved how superior they were to traditional forms of weapons.

Slowly, but surely, the amount of weapons being purchased by the military and private companies began to decline until they were barely making a profit anymore. They had not expected the war to end so soon either, but the Crying Heavens incident accelerated Japan's victory. It was also the event that reinforced just how superior magicians were to weapons, and sped up the world race to see which nation could produce magicians the fastest. With all that, all of the machine guns, bazookas, grenades, tanks, military jets, and so on, were rendered useless and put the Heartfilia family on the verge of bankruptcy.

That was when the Dragneel and Strauss clans stepped in. Both of them were clans that thrived in war, so neither of them had much of a pull in the political of economic world, though they did have quite a bit of their clan finances to spend. They offered to help bail the Heartfilia family out of debt and introduced them to the world and workings of magic in exchange for shares of the company, making them partial owners, and an alliance so that the clans covered the magic, political, and economic worlds. The Heartfilia family accepted this offer of course.

Due to the dealings between them and the near constant interactions, Meredy and Lucy met and gradually became friends.

Normally this would be good news for Mavis, since she is a daughter of both clans, but sadly that wasn't the case. She was still an illegitimate child and they are generally frowned upon in the world of clans. The Heartfilia family would still never recognize her as it meant admitting another heir to their fortune and the Dragneel clan would see her as nothing more than an object for war and to show off their military might.

Neither option was a desirable one.

Apparently her friends took notice of how Meredy was acting and decided to confront her about it.

"Meredy-chan, is everything okay? You've been kind of quiet ever since we arrived this morning." Lisanna asked, worried for her childhood friend.

"Yeah! It's not manly to keep things all bottled up like that!" Elfman's booming voice yelled, earning a glare from his sister. His obsessions with manliness knew no bounds.

Meredy had changed quite a bit over the years. In fact if someone were to compare her to the little girl she was four years ago, they wouldn't be able to see the comparison. Meredy had long, wavy, vibrant pink hair that was tied into a high ponytail. Even though it was tied up, her hair still reached down to her lower back, part of her forehead was obscured by her bangs and two curly strands framed her face. She had beautiful deep green eyes and long eyelashes to compliment them. Her body is one that one that most women could only dream of having, she was very curvaceous and had a rather large bust. She was easily one of the most beautiful women in the school.

Natsus disappearance had affected her greatly. It ultimately made her think about the relationships she had with her family, or rather the lack there of. She hated that she never really knew her twin brother or even really thought about him until his disappearance, gradually she began to open up to people rather than keeping everything to herself. This is what led to her major personality changes over the past four years.

She had missed her twin brother over the past few years. It was only after his disappearance did she realize how much she missed him and how horrible of a sister she was. Ever since the kidnapping incident she had avoided him like the plague. She saw how much i hurt him but she didn't care, she had thought of him as a cold-blooded killer who enjoyed ending the lives of those poor, helpless men.

Now she could only curse her naïvety for ruining the relationship she had with her twin. Back then she saw the world as black and white, good and bad. She never stopped to realize that he saved her life by killing their kidnappers. Only after she had matured did she realize how foolish her way of thinking was, but by then...it was too late.

Meredy had never thought that she would ever get the chance to see her twin brother again. After the first few months of searching, it seemed hopeless and after a few years he was presumed dead. But now here he was at her school. She could finally have the chance to be the family that she had always denied.

Meredy's solemn expression didn't change a bit from her friends' usual antics, which the three of them noticed. Usually Meredy was the first one to snap at Elfman about his love for manliness, that's just the way things were.

"Seriously Meredy-chan, what's wrong? This isn't like you?" Lucy questioned.

The only pinkette in the room sighed. She had done a lot of thinking since yesterday, only now did she realize how foolish it was for her to expect her twin brother to return home after all these years. She was positive that it was him she saw yesterday, but what hurt her the most was seeing him act so happy around the freshmen representative and that blue-haired girl with the twin tails.

If she had only understood what really happened after they were kidnapped all those years ago, maybe she would have been the one to greet him after the freshman ceremony and dragging him to a cake shop to celebrate their acceptance.

What really upset her was that he was that the freshmen representative was practically hanging off his arm ever since the ceremony was over. Why did they know each other? Why were they so close? When did they meet? Why did they act like brother and sister one moment then lovers the next, why was it that her brother could smile around that girl? She had never seen her brother's smile in over six years, why had she never seen him smile before?

These were the thoughts that plagued her mind before she was broken from her thoughts by Lucy's question.

"Do you two remember my twin brother?" Meredy asked Lisanna and Elfman, who cringed at the memory of Natsu. Meredy noticed this and was ashamed that he own friends were still bothered by the notion of killing.

They were in a magic high school! What did they think would happen when they graduated? That the world would be a perfect, peaceful place? No, they would most likely be forced to work for their clan, a clan who specialized in War and the like.

Lisanna was the first to speak up after remembering the nightmares her friend's brother caused her. "Why are you asking about him now all of a sudden? Didn't he go missing over four years ago?"

Meredy nodded, "I think I saw him yesterday." She commented, shocking the two who were familiar with him. "He was with the freshmen representative and the student council president after the ceremony...I'm just a bit overwhelmed with everything."

"There's no way it was him, you're probably just imaging things. He's supposed to be dead remember?" Elfman said, trying to convince himself more than anything.

Meredy shook her head. "No. I know it was him. And I'm going to find out more from the freshmen representative when she gets here."

Lucy looked between the two a little confused. She had met all of the head family members of the Dragneel clan, and she was certain that Loke Dragneel only had two daughters, Ikaruga and Meredy. Who was it that her friends were talking about? And why did Lisanna and Elfman seem so scared all of a sudden?

"Who are you three talking about? I thought your father only had two children." Lucy asked, clearly lost as to what her friends were talking about.

"That's right, we met each other after he disappeared...I have a younger twin brother named Natsu. Nobody in the main family mentions him anymore because he disappeared over four years ago. We searched all over for him, but he was presumed dead years ago...but I finally saw him yesterday. And it was at this school of all places." Meredy explained cheerily.

The conversation would have kept on going, but it was interrupted when a melodic voice echoed throughout the classroom.

"Good Morning~"

Mavis slowly stepped into the classroom, and the moment she did all eyes were on her. Not a moment later the entire classroom was whispering and squealing incoherently at the beauty before them, all the while gawking like they had never seen a woman before.

Whether they were boy or girl, every person's face blushed bright red as she flashed them a smile before walking to her seat. It was a fake smile of course, she would never give a real smile to these faceless students. Her genuine smile was reserved for her Onii-sama only.

-"Kyaa! It's the freshman rep!"

-"Oh Kami, she's gorgeous! Do you think I'd have a chance with her?"

-"Of course she would be in the highest class of the school! And I'm in here with her!"

-"She looks like she could be royalty!"

Many of the students whispered such remarks, and Mavis heard each and every one of them. Though, she easily ignored them, if these people were sent into such a frenzy by her mere appearance in the classroom then they were not worth her time.

Mavis quickly found her seat and inserted her ID card into the terminal. A moment later, she began the information check and began inputting the necessary data. She may not have been as good as her Onii-sama, but she knew her way around a computer. She memorized all of the information that was displayed on the screen, before registering for her classes and electives. The whole process only took a few minutes before she finished.

Just as she removed her ID card from the terminal, she sensed a few presences approaching her and quickly lifted her head up.

Mavis could only sigh at the sight of her two half-sisters and two members of the Strauss clan walking up to her desk.

"Good morning. How may I help you four?" Mavis asked as politely as possible. It seemed her Onii-sama was right in how determined they would be to find out the relationship between her and Natsu. He had already told her there was no point in hiding it, since they were both enrolled under the last name, but that didn't mean she had to outright tell them the whole truth.

"Ah, hello Vermillion-san, I am Meredy Dragneel and these are Lucy Heartfilia, Lisanna Strauss,and Elfman Strauss. I hope you don't mind me taking up a moment of your time." Meredy said, slightly intimidated by the pure beauty of the girl before her.

Mavis had to hold back a scoff. She was well aware as to who these people were and she wanted nothing to do with any of them. However, she was the freshmen representative, and her Onii-sama would be upset if she lost her temper before the first class had even started.

"What may I help you with Dragneel-san?"

"I...well, I was wondering what kind of relationship you had with my twin brother." Meredy told the girl honestly. She wanted to immediately confront the girl as to why they were acting like that yesterday, but she just wanted to see him again...to see him happy, not that act that he had put on all those years ago.

"Hm?...I was not aware that the Dragneel clan had a male heir, as far as I'm aware, the Dragneel clan head only had two granddaughters." Mavis spoke with a tilt of her head, feigning ignorance.

She did not like the woman before her, she was a source of her Onii-sama's greatest pain. She was one of the ones who made her Onii-sama suffer for all those years before they moved away, she was one of the people who deprived her Onii-sama of what he wanted most. A family.

Meredy narrowed her eyes at the freshmen representative. Why was she lying? She had clearly seen this girl hanging off of her twin's arms and dragging him off the school's campus.

"You probably know who I am to him...or at least, what I was. I-I just want to see him again...to bring him back home."

Meredy was beginning to make a scene and some of the other students started to listen in on the conversation.

"He has in fact told me quite a lot about you Dragneel-san." Mavis growled darkly with a smirk replacing her smile. "If fact, he told me quite a bit about all of you...I know everything...But the person you are referring to no longer exists...The one you are talking about is my Onii-sama, Natsu Vermillion."

All four of the freshmen standing at Mavis's desk were frozen in shock.

Lisanna and Elfman were terrified that the man who haunted their nightmares for so long was came back from the dead and was even in the same school as them right now. They had to go to therapy for years just to keep all those dead bodies and blood from coming to mind every time they closed their eyelids. It had been a rough couple years for them.

Though, Lisanna was also seething inwardly. She hated Natsu with a passion and that kidnapping incident only made her loathe him even more. She had been so weak and helpless after they had been kidnapped, but then Natsu went and saved them all. She hated that he showed her up, but she also feared him because of what he had done.

Lucy was more surprised at Mavis's change in personality than anything. She had come off as so sweet and innocent, but in a single moment she turned evil and sadistic. Honestly, it scared the hell out of Lucy...and reminded her of the Strauss clan's eldest daughter.

Meredy was by far the worst case. Her worst fears had come to life, Natsu really did leave of his own accord. Not only that, but it seems that he doesn't even consider them family anymore if this harlot's attitude was anything to go by, not to mention he got rid of their clan's name. But what hurt her the most was that he found another sister. She had been replaced by this girl!

Meredy clenched her fists so tightly that they turned white and drew blood. She was about to kill the woman in front of her when the first bell went off and a message appeared on the screen at the front of the class.

"You should all return to your seats. It appears that you haven't input the necessary data into your terminals just yet, as the freshmen representative I can't let you ignore such an important part of the registration process. Please follow the instructions that are on the board." Mavis told them all sweetly.

Begrudgingly, the four students backed away and walked back to their desks.

Outwardly, Mavis was a proper and polite as ever, however on the inside she was doing a happy dance before she fell on the ground laughing. She wished she had a picture of their faces, Mavis had always wanted to tell her Onii-sama's family off. And while this was rather tame, it was more than enough for the moment.

Mavis had finished all of the registration and course selection before class, so that she could leave early and meet up with her Onii-sama and his friends. She much preferred her Onii-sama and Wendy to these snobby Course 1 students who all acted like they had sticks shoved up their asses.

* * *

"So, how have you been enjoying the school so far?" Natsu asked as they all sat down at a large table in the cafeteria after getting their food.

The dishes looked quite appetizing, but in reality it was nothing more than fast food that was made from a dinner serving module. On each tray there was a large helping of white rice, small pieces of fried chicken, dumplings, and an assorted array of vegetables.

Though Natsu would have preferred it if there was more meat.

Natsu sat on the side of the table that had a booth, across for him were Gray and Wendy who occupied regular chairs. Sitting right next to Natsu, so close that she was almost sitting on his lap, was Mavis. He took a piece of chicken and fed it to her, which she gladly accepted. Natsu had always enjoyed feeding his princess, it didn't matter to him or her whether they were at home or in public. Just because other people were around didn't mean they would cease their usual actions.

Wendy was blushing up a storm at the sight of the sibling before her. She could never hope to be so daring in public, and with their own sibling no less. She envied their self confidence, it was the one thing that she had always lacked.

Gray had no outward reaction to the scene before him, but if one looked closely, they would see a small amount of pink that dusted his cheeks.

"These people are making me miss our secluded life in Hokkaido. All this Bloom/Weed nonsense is also a real annoyance." Mavis sighed as she recalled just how adamant all of the Course 1 students had been about her spending time with 'Weeds.'

"Have your classmates been giving you that much trouble already?" Natsu asked as he fed his sister a bit of rice. "I really don't expect you to become best friends with any of them, but it would be best to at least have a civil relationship with them."

"I suppose that I had a run in with who you told me about on the way to school." Mavis waved her hands in front of her face after seeing the look her brother was giving her. "They were the ones who came to me. I had to tell them a bit of our relationship with each other, but I didn't hand out any unnecessary details."

"We'll talk more about that particular subject later." He whispered so that only Mavis could hear.

Natsu turned his head towards the other two occupants of the table and saw that they had almost finished their meals. One downside to feeding his sister was that it took a bit of time, as they usually had some of their most lovely conversations during meals.

"What did you two think of the school facilities?" Natsu asked, trying to include them into the conversation. "We did spend quite a bit of time at the workshop and you seemed to take an interest in what was there Wendy."

Wendy perked up as she heard Natsu talking to them, "I never knew stuff like that was so amazing. There were so many different weapons and everyone there was so good at using them! I'd never seen anything like that before! All I'm used to are magicians purely using magic, combining magic and physical capabilities is something I'd never thought about before." Wendy exclaimed excitedly.

Out of everyone at the table Wendy was the one who hd benefitted the most. She was like a child in a toy store.

"And I had never seen the inside of a CAD before, magic engineers are really amazing if they can build those and program magic and activation sequences into them...in fact, I might be interested in learning more about magic engineering." Wendy spoke with stars in her eyes.

"If you like it that much, it's not too late to register for the basic magic engineering course. I think Natsu's taking that course as well, though he's probably more advanced." Gray half-asked, half-stated. He looked over to Natsu and received a nod, telling him that his assumptions were right.

The conversation continued in that direction, all of them taking pleasure in each other's company. Even Natsu, he had never been comfortable around anybody except for Mavis and Hisui. He wondered why he felt that he could trust his newfound friends so much.

* * *

Several tables away from where Natsu was having lunch with his sister, Gray, and Wendy, two individuals were having lunch and watching the group intently.

"Why are you just sitting here Meredy? If you really want to know what happened go over there and ask him yourself. I'm sure Natsu-sama is still the same person we knew all those years ago." Yukino commented.

Right after registration, Lisanna, Elfman, and Lucy had gone off looking for the freshmen representative to see if she wanted to tour the specialized classes with them. Lisanna was the most adamant about it, seeing as how they may have gotten off on the wrong foot. She also wanted to be friends with Mavis because of her status and prestige as the best of the freshmen class.

It was a rather vain and selfish desire if you thought about it. Though Lisanna would be the type to do something for the sake of reputation alone. She had always been the princess character who was spoiled rotten and received everything she could ever desire, even though she claimed that Yukino was always the favorite child because she was the youngest. She couldn't have been further from the truth.

Normally Yukino wouldn't have associated herself with Meredy or her two siblings that were older by one year, but it seemed as if the entire Course 1 freshman class was almost arrogant and pampered as her sister. She also hated this Bloom/Weed nonsense as it was only feeding their already overinflated egos. It seemed as if there wasn't a single person that was worth getting to know, what a pity.

Yukino stared longingly at Natsu. He was the only person that she really got along with besides her eldest sister, Mirajane. Natsu had always treated her like she was just a normal girl that needed to be protected and taken care of, and she loved that.

Lisanna had always treated her coldly, she blamed her for stealing away the attention of their parents just because she was younger. She had always tried to push Yukino around, but Natsu could never stand for that and stood up for her. That is what led to Lisanna's volatile relationship with Natsu. Even to this day, Lisanna still looks down on her and sees her as nothing more than someone who stole their parents' love.

Yukino had given up on Lisanna a long time ago. Elfman was no better because he followed her around like a stray puppy, clinging onto every word that she said.

Yukino believed that Lisanna had both an inferiority and a superiority complex and that is what led to her turning out like this. The kidnapping incident certainly didn't help with how powerless the perpetrators and Natsu made her feel during all of this, it actually made her a lot worse over the years.

After starting high school she promised herself that she would keep her distance from her siblings and start her own path down life, away from her sibling's beliefs and away from the clan's. Perhaps she would do well to try and reconnect with Natsu since they were quite close before his disappearance. She was one of the only ones who knew how he truly felt about his family.

Maybe that is why they got along so well, neither of them had good relationships with their families. Perhaps it was some kind of subconscious understanding of comforting two people who were in the same boat.

That was why the disappearance of her best friend affected he so deeply. It made her feel like she was truly alone in the world. Mirajane had been so withdrawn and distant from the family because of her demon-like powers. She only changed after Natsu's disappearance and seeing how much her youngest sister needed her. Even though Mirajane tried her best to comfort the girl, but could never understand the depth of what she felt.

Yukino was so hurt and so alone, and yet she was happy at the same time. Happy because she knew that Natsu would have a life where he could have his own family, a real one. He had offered to take Yukino along, but she refused because she wanted to give her family that chance she thought they deserved. By the time she realized that she made the wrong choice, he was already gone.

She had thought that she would never see him again. It was a bittersweet feeling, she wanted him to be happy but she also wanted to be right by his side. And now here he was sitting not a hundred feet away from her.

Yukino desperately wanted to get up right now and wrap her arms around him, never letting him go again, but she knew that it would make her seem desperate and that she was only doing it to get closer to the freshmen representative just like her sister was. No, she would wait for a better time for their reunion.

She looked over at her one time best friend and smiled softly. _'He really does look happy now...I wonder how much could have changed if I went with him that day...'_

Yukino then turned her gaze back to the pink-haired girl sitting across from her and immediately regretted it.

Meredy was glaring at the girl in her brother's arm with unsuppressed rage and jealousy.

Yukino could only sigh at the Dragneel's youngest daughter. The loss of their younger brother affected the two daughters so much that even their personalities did a complete one-eighty. She could remember the days when Meredy was distant and cold to everyone, where she only cared about training and the clan's values, nothing else.

Honestly, Natsu's disappearance did a lot of good for the clan.

"I can't just walk over there Yukino, not when that blonde-haired harlot is sitting right there, wrapped up in his arms." Meredy replied as she clenched her fists once again. "It's obvious the girl doesn't like me and I don't want to ruin any chance I have reconcile with Natsu-kun." She added solemnly, she really missed him.

 _'But the person you are referring to no longer exists, you may check any government records you may like, you won't find a thing...The one you are talking about is my Onii-sama, Natsu Vermillion.'_

Meredy couldn't help but repeat what Mavis had said over and over in her head, as if it was a broken record. Just what had she meant by that?

While Meredy was wrapped up in her thoughts, Yukino looked back over to where Natsu was and immediately facepalmed.

 _'What the hell are they doing now?'_

* * *

The group which was comprised of three Course 2 students and one Course 1 students had been enjoying their lunch so far. One would think that because of the standard discrimination agains Course 2 students that they would have a volatile relationship at best with any Course 1 student, but that was not the case.

Mavis was not your typical snobby, arrogant, pretentious, Course 1 student. She acted like she was a regular girl and that whoever she was talking to was a normal person instead of judging them by their course. Because of this, she immediately hit it off with Wendy and Gray. Gray's laid back attitude and Wendy's shy and polite one helped ease the tension that there normally would have been, but regardless, they were talking as if they had known each other all their life.

Natsu was quite happy that the two of them immediately got along with his little sister, had they not, he would have left them right then and there. They were good people, but he cared more about Mavis than anything in the world.

They had ben a little flustered at the sight of Natsu and Mavis feeding each other and Natsu holding his sister tightly in his lap as they did so, but they quickly disregarded it. Gray had his own issues to deal with and he didn't need to add someone els's to his list. While Wendy was cooing at the scene, finding it adorable. One thing that everyone at the table quickly realized was that she was a romantic, despite being so young.

Though it seemed that this rare moment of peace wouldn't last as Wendy and Gray noticed a small crowd of Course 1 students was approaching their table and staring at them as if they were nothing more than insects. They groaned in irritation, having somewhat of an idea of what was to come, while Mavis and Natsu continued to feed each other, much to envy of the male students in the crowd.

The two siblings didn't even spare the gathering crowd a glance. If they were getting so worked up over her sitting with Course 2 students and had expected her to conform to the usual beliefs of Blooms just because of their appearance, they were not even worth acknowledging.

The freshmen representative belonged with them, she was far too beautiful and prestigious to be sitting with lowly Weeds. Every single one of these boys had already been bewitched by Mavis's charms and they would not be letting her go so easily.

And of course, leading the pack was Lisanna, looking smug as ever, with Elfman and Lucy not far behind.

With much difficulty, the two silver-haired siblings had cast aside their fear for the sake of their pride as Blooms of the most prestigious magic high school in Japan. They'd be damned if they let Natsu affect their lives here as much as he did in the past. Especially since even the school had deemed him beneath them. They would not let a lowly Weed try to steal their freshmen representative away from them.

Lisanna looked at the students currently occupying the table. "Excuse me you three, please move to another table. We would like to sit with Vermillion-san." Lisanna demanded, trying to sound as sweet as possible. It was not working.

With those condescending words said, not a single person got up. No, Wendy and Gray turned back to the table and continued their conversation, completely disregarding her demands.

This did not sit well with Lisanna, it infuriated her. "Weeds are merely reserves for us Blooms. Wether it be in the classroom or in the dining hall, it is only right for you to vacate these seats should we wish to use them. And we do. I'm sure Vermillion-san would much prefer our company to you peasants. Am I indeed correct?"

Mavis didn't even register her words as she happily chomped down on a dumpling that her Onii-sama held out for her. Wendy and Gray sweatdropped at what they guessed were the usual antics of the two siblings.

Surprisingly, it was Wendy who broke the silence. "Um can I say something Bloom-san?"

"I am from the prestigious Strauss clan. Lisanna Strauss." Lisanna spoke proudly, not a hint of modesty in her voice.

"Um...might you actually be an idiot?" Wendy asked with a cute tilt of the head.

There was a moment of silence before the three other occupants of the table erupted in laughter. Had anyone else said this, they wouldn't have gotten this reaction, but because of Wendy's shy and polite nature along with the context of the current situation, no matter how hard they tried they couldn't suppress their outburst.

Gray almost fell out of his seat he was laughing so hard, he wouldn't be calming down anytime soon. Mavis was much more lady-like, so she covered her mouth with her hand and giggled. Even Natsu, who was usually calm and serious, couldn't stifle himself. This lasted for a few good, long minutes before everyone began to calm down.

This didn't sit well with Lisanna as her face went red in anger. She stared menacingly at the blue-haired girl who caused all of this, before shifting her gaze to who she came here for.

"Vermillion-san...please have these Weeds vacate these seats so that we may sit down, or come with us." Lisanna calmly spoke after reigning in her anger. "We really need to draw the line between Course 1 and Course 2."

Mavis had been whispering something to Natsu, they were leaning very close to each other, so close that their lips were almost touching.

After seeing such an intimate display, the Blooms were burning with jealousy at the fact that this Weed was about to kiss their beloved freshmen representative, the top of the Course 1 curriculum. It was blasphemy that a Weed even associate with a Bloom, but to do these kind of actions together! And the fact that Mavis was beautiful beyond compare only added to those feelings.

The man she was currently clinging to may have been handsome, but for her to lower herself to the level of this trash just because he managed to seduce her was unforgivable.

Mavis sighed as she saw that her classmates were getting impatient and showed no signs that they would be leaving anytime soon, it seemed that she would have to get involved after all.

She was not happy, not in the slightest. These people may have been her classmates, but they were interrupting the precious time that she was spending with her Onii-sama and their new friends. Her time with her Onii-sama would be limited now that they had entered high school, and the fact that these insects thought that they had the right to tear them apart made her blood boil.

Mavis shifted her attention towards the foolish girl who started all this. Lisanna flinched as she saw the look that Mavis was giving her, but she had no intention of backing off.

"I do not care if we are classmates, you are disrupting the time that I am spending with my Onii-sama." Mavis was tired of playing this game, she didn't care about her reputation, she just wanted them to get it through their heads that she had no intention of befriending them.

Most of the crowd of Blooms were stunned by the revelation. Lisanna and Elfman were obviously shocked as well but the hid it beter. They thought that they had heard her wrong in the classroom or that she was only saying that to mess with Cosmos. But for he to say it here in front of all these people must have meant that she was serious.

"B-B-BROTHER!" Most of the group yelled as they stared at the pink-haired boy next to her. It was just not possible, there was no resemblance at all, different eye colors, different hair colors, the difference in height, build, facial structure, it couldn't have been more different.

All those who questioned their relationship with each other were met with a piercing cold glare that made them feel as if they had been stabbed right through the heart.

Mavis hated it when people questioned her relation to her Onii-sama, they were blood related siblings. They may only be half-siblings, but they were still siblings nonetheless. They may not have a single similar physical feature, but what did that matter. How dare these people question that they were siblings!

"Who else would this be?" Mavis growled menacingly. "This is my elder brother. The man who raised me, the man who is my brother, the man who has the same blood running through his veins. What right do you have to question that? I shall do with him what I very well please!...I will give you this one chance to leave us be, should you choose to remain, I will not be held responsible for the fate that befalls you." She ended threateningly.

The crowd stood their ground for a moment before they quickly dispersed as they bolted through the exit of the cafeteria. If one would ask them, they would learn that every one of those students saw the Shinigami hovering over Mavis and reaching out with its hands to grab them and drag them into the depths of hell himself. Mavis was a self-taught illusion mage, and she excelled in the art. Almost as much as she did with her **[Light Magic]**.

Such trivial uses of illusions she could even use without a CAD. The illusion she used just now was actually quite weak, if any of those students had bothered to flare their magical power, then they would have dispelled the illusion. They didn't think to do that though, because they assumed that magic requires the use of a CAD. The fact is that CADs only speed up the use of magic, it is up to the magicians themselves to actually employ the magic. Something such as that should be common knowledge for a magician. They were quite the disappointment.

"They weren't worth your time Onii-sama." Mavis told her brother as she wrapped her arms around him once again. She had noticed that Natsu was about to get involved, so she decided to step in. If Natsu were to deal with them, they would have to make quite a few trips to a therapist over the next few years. Elfman and Lisanna were proof of that.

Natsu pulled Mavis in even closer, earning a squeak from her but she enjoyed it nonetheless.

Suddenly Natsu felt a vibration in his jacket pocket, Mavis felt it too due to their proximity. Both siblings looked each other in the eyes and nodded. It was required that Natsu keep that pendant on him at all times. Whenever it went off, they knew that something important was taking place.

Natsu reached up to his jacket pocket and sighed. He had hoped that it was just his imagination, but it appeared that his hopes were in vain.

Natsu reluctantly released Mavis from his arms while she got up off his lap and moved onto the booth.

"It seems that I have some business to handle elsewhere, Gray, Wendy, can I trust you to look after Mavis for the rest of the day?" He asked suddenly, confusing the two other Course 2 students, but they nodded anyway.

Today was special. It was the only day that was designated for registering for classes and visiting all of the specialized classrooms. This was a chance for them to decide which electives they wanted to take, or to visit all of the clubs there were in the school. Students were required to stay for the whole school day in hopes of sparking their interest or inspiring them towards a specific class. Because of this, the day was exceptionally long. The first bell went off at 8am sharp, while the last one happened at 5pm.

If Natsu was lucky, he would be back in time to commute home with Mavis just after the final bell.

"Sorry about this." Natsu apologized to his friends. "Hopefully I'll be back in time to walk home with you Mavis, if not, go ahead and leave without me."

With those final words said, Natsu walked out of the cafeteria, leaving two confused friends and a worried sister behind. Whenever Natsu was called out like this, the entire world felt the result. She hoped he would be okay.

* * *

It had only been a total of five minutes since Natsu had departed from First High School's cafeteria, and yet he had already arrived at his destination. As expected of one of the fastest mages in Japan, if not the fastest.

The building that he had just stepped foot in was a mess. Rubble everywhere, the large stone columns that held up the building were completely collapsed, there were dead bodies everywhere. It looked like the entire Magic Council Headquarters in Era had been bombed.

It was quite clear to him that the only reason this building was still standing at all was because of the use of magic. If the mountain that this building was on were to fall, then the majority of the city below would be wiped out.

Natsu stepped foot in a large, dark chamber that was only lit up by torches on the walls and magic circles that were engraved into the floor, partially illuminating the room a light blue color. He sat down in his seat and faced the other nine magicians present in the room.

Warrod Sequen, a 'man' with plant-like physical features, his head resembling a gnarled tree trunk while his hair resembled a leafy treetop. Even with his plant-like qualities, clear signs of advanced age were showing. Through his use of **[Green Magic]** he has attained incredible longevity, he is a man who fought throughout World War Three, The Asian War, and perhaps even before that. His magic is a supportive type that is capable of controlling nature, though it has limited offensive capabilities, he is capable of utilizing these plants for amazing feats.

Precht Gaebolg, otherwise known as Hades. He is a tall, elderly man with long, slicked back, silver-white hair, with a beard and mustache of the same color. He is well muscled and defined for a man of his advanced age, he also wears an eyepatch covering his right eye. He specializes in a few different forms of magic, **[Chain Magic]** , **[Amaterasu Formulas]** , and **[Bullet Magic]**. His skill with these three types of magic make him one of the most feared mages on the continent.

Gildarts Clive, a tall, muscular man with shoulder-length, slicked back, orange hair and a stubbly beard. He lost his left arm and left leg during the latter years of World War Three, so they are currently replaced with mechanical limbs. He is a specialist, and currently only user of **[Crash Magic]**. It is an extremely powerful type of magic that smashes everything it comes into contact with into pieces. It can even be used to crack other magics into pieces, nullifying its effects, reducing its magic power, and even deflecting it. He is arguably the most powerful mage in the country.

Jura Neekis, a tall and massive man with a heavily muscular figure, distinguished by his bald head. He possesses a pair of strange oval-shaped eyebrows just above his black eyes, he also has a mustache of similar appearance, and a long dark beard. Jura uses an extremely powerful form of **[Earth Magic]** that enables him to manipulate the earth however he pleases. He is the only know person in Japan to wield such a powerful form of earth magic, and because of the, he gained the moniker 'Iron Rock Jura.'

Byro Cracy, a tall, muscular man with spiky, slicked back, white hair. He has no eyebrows and possesses dark eyes, there are also two tufts of white hair on his chin that point downwards. He was always too serious for his own good and would sacrifice even his own family for the good of the nation. He is able to nullify any kind of magic in a very large radius. This **[Nullification]** is seemingly the most powerful type of **[Counter Magic]** that Japan has ever seen. He is also a master of hand-to-hand combat and swordsmanship. Truly a well rounded magician, even if his personality leaves much to be desired.

Minerva Orlando, a slim, young woman of average height and is easily distinguishable by her traditional Japanese features, features that have long since died out among most of Japan. Her long, straight, and glossy black hair reaches down to her lower back and, while mostly left loose, her hair bangs are braided to frame her face and the hair on the sides of her head are tied into bun shaped loops. She is quite a beautiful woman, and is the only one among the nine magicians in the room. She is the only know user of **[Territory]** , a magic that revolves around the manipulation of space, which allows her to control any spatial region within her line of sight. She is Japan's only known superpower, as Natsu still hasn't been confirmed to be one.

Bluenote Stinger, a tall, muscular, middle-aged man with extremely long, dark hair, which is gathered on the back of his head and tied into a thin, long ponytail. He is a man who thrives in battle and who is highly confident in his abilities, because of this he has become extremely bored ever since the war ended. Bluenote is a practitioner of **[Gravity Magic]** and is seen using it in a variety of ways such as, increasing and decreasing the amount of gravity in an area, lifting objects and people, and even creating black holes. This is a far more powerful form than the usual gravity magic that is used by everyday magicians.

Brain, a dark skinned man with dark eyes and neat, shoulder-length, silver hair. Most interestingly, he has a split personality and becomes even stronger when his other personality emerges. He is a man who does not respect his opponents, often calling them trash or maggots. He is willing to go to any length to complete his goal, whatever they may be at the moment. He is a renowned Magic Engineer, often hailed as a magical genius for the amount of different spells he's created. He is the head of the Bureau of Magic Development, who has created most of the commonly used spells that are a regularly handled by mages. He is well known for mastering every general and specialized spell that is available to S-Class Magicians.

The final mage in the room was known only as Havoc, a man who wears a white-porcelain mask with a purple lightning bolt over the right eye and a red mouth. He wears a knee-length, bullet-proof coat with black pants, black combat boots, and holsters for dual-bladed knives on each of his hips. He also has spiky black hair. He is one of Japan's two Strategic-Class magicians. He is an unstoppable force of nature, similar to what his magic is. This is all that is known about him, he is currently Japan's most mysterious magician.

Most of their magics is classified under a specific category, whether it be systematic, perceptions, non-systematic, or outer-systematic. However each of them specialize in their own branch of magic within those four major classifications, and have mastered their preferred type of magic to a degree that has had their names engraved forever into the history of Japan. This generation of Wizard Saints is by far the strongest since the modern age of magic began.

These are nine of the Ten Wizard Saints, the strongest magicians in all of Japan. Each of their strengths is said to be so immense that they can take on scores of regular magicians with ease and can take on world class mages with minimal effort. It has been said that if two of the mages, whether it be current or former, were to clash in combat, it would cause a 'cataclysm'. Though it should be noted that each of their strengths are not equal.

However, one of these Wizard Saints were currently absent.

As Natsu took his seat at one end of the hollow, circular table, the magic circle that it was surrounding lit up even brighter. When the light died down, a hologram of the current Chairman of the Magic Council appeared before them.

"[Good, now that you are all here we may begin the meeting.]" Crawford Seam spoke.

In any normal situation any one of the mages in the room would have questioned about Jellal's absence, however it appeared that the chairman was already aware of that fact and would inform them of why he was so. It was required for each of the saints to attend every meeting do to the importance and severity of what was discussed in these chambers. Then there was the state of the council headquarters...

"[I'm sure all of you have noticed the current state of the council headquarters and the absence of your fellow Wizard Saint. These two events are no mere coincidence...Jellal has now been branded as Japan's most wanted man and will be treated as such!]"

Many of the eyes in the room widened at that statement. This was going to be a much bigger problem then they thought. Normally, there would have been an outburst by now, but they were all too curious to hear the details of what had happened.

"[Jellal has been declared as a worshiper of Zeref. I'm sure you're all aware of who this man is because of how often he is discussed at these meetings and how often one of you is sent to destroy or bring back magical artifacts or demons that he had left behind...This act of terrorism on the Magic Council Headquarters was Jellal's declaration of war against Japan and his way of bringing about awareness to who Zeref was!]" The Chairman spoke with absolute seriousness.

"What is he planning? Why do all of this now?" Jura asked, worried for whatever that man might be planning.

Jellal was a fearsome mage in his own right and one of the strongest wizard saints. If he was involved with the infamous 'Black Wizard Zeref' then things weren't looking good for the country of Japan.

"[We have tracked him to a large tower made purely of magical lacrima... We've been able to find out that he has been accumulating a large amount of slaves over the past month and is planning to sacrifice all of them in order to revive Zeref... From the size of the tower and the amount of heat signatures we've tracked there, he has been planning this for over a decade now...even as we speak the heat signatures are dropping rapidly, signifying that he has already begun sacrificing them, we must stop him before he succeeds in any kinds of plans that he may have!]" The man yelled,

It was obvious that they were rushed for time and would need to take action shortly.

"So what you are saying is that one of us needs to stop him and perhaps die in the process, or maybe even become one of his sacrifices?" Brain stated more than asked. There was no way he was going to risk his life for some cause that had nothing to do with him, he had his own plans to take care of.

Many of those in the room looked at each other to see who would be most fit to carry out this mission. Several of those in the room were too old to keep up with the speed of Jellal's magic and would easily be out classed, while some of the others were just plain not strong enough to deal with him and would surely fail.

"I'll go." A distorted voice spoke up as he listened to the panic in Crawford's voice.

Natsu had promised Mystogan that he would be the one to kill Jellal should it come to it, and it appeared as if he had no other choice at the moment. Sometimes Natsu wondered if his sensei had the ability to see into the future with how easily he was able to predict events that were to come. That was the only reason he wasn't surprised to hear about Jellal's betrayal. As soon as his pendant informed him that there would be a meeting of the Wizard Saints, he knew it would come to this.

"Hm...Havoc-kun you're volunteering? It's usually Bluenote who does these kind of missions." Minerva asked, honestly curious as to what his motives were. Natsu wasn't one to volunteer to take extra missions, he took the ones that were assigned to him and requested him, but that was it. Doing more missions would mean spending more time away from Mavis, but this was a favor.

Most of the other Wizard Saints were curious as well. Havoc was one of the strongest Wizard Saints and was capable of taking on anyone in the room, but he tended to destroy everywhere he went due to the nature of his magic. If he was really going, preparations needed to be made to prevent tsunamis along the coast and panic from the citizens from earthquakes.

"I never liked Jellal in the first place, now is the perfect chance to deal with him." His distorted voice spoke through the mask.

"[The tower is in the Pacific Ocean off of Japan's coast. I'll have the exact coordinates sent to your mobile terminal on your way there.]" With those final words said, the hologram disappeared and Nastu disappeared in a flash of lightning.

No matter what kind of wisdom dictates the option you should pick, no one will be able to tell you if it's right or if it's wrong until you arrive at some sort of outcome, resulting from your choice. The only thing we are allowed to do is to believe that we won't regret the choice we made.

Natsu had made his choice. He would kill the man that he once saw as an older brother, not because the Magic Council ordered it, but because it was the only option where this world would survive what Jellal was trying to bring forth. He was not going to just kill this man, he was going to annihilate him. Jellal was trying to bring an end to the world that him and Mavis had finally found happiness in. Natsu would not allow such crimes to stand.

* * *

 **Chapter End**

 **I'm sorry to everyone who is a Lisanna fan, but I don't like her much personally. That isn't why I made her like this in my story though. She's just someone that I can easily picture as being the spoiled princess type of character and I needed a reason for Natsu to have some interactions with the other siblings of the Strauss clan, hence Natsu being Yukino's chilhood friend, he needed to have at least one person who cared about him when he was still a Dragneel.**

 **She won't play a major part in this story though.**

 **Meredy may seem a little OOC at the moment, just think of it as a mix of her personality while she was in Grimore Heart and during the Grand Magic Games. I originally had her part written for a different character, but I went back and changed it to her. That's why she may seem OOC, she will go back to her usual self in a chapter or two.**

 **Ultear may be a bit OOC, but I can easily see her as the teasing kind of character and she did have somewhat of that personality in canon. I'm going to merge her personality with Saegusa Mayumi's just so she fits more into the story and her role as the student council president.**

 **Next chapter will be Natsu vs. Jellal.**


	3. Clash! Heavens and the Earth

Chapter 3: Clash! Heavens and the Earth

 ***This will be a shorter version of the tower of heaven arc. Mostly just Jellal vs. Natsu, anything else would be pointless because their levels are much higher than they were in the canon timeline. Plus all of the characters who were involved there are either enrolled at magic high school or just now strong enough to provide any entertainment.**

 **Jellal is currently at the level he was at in X791.**

* * *

I own neither Fairy Tail nor Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.

* * *

 **Modern Age: Clash! Heavens and the Earth**

 _People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That is how they define reality. But what does it mean to be correct or true? They are merely vague concepts...Their reality may may all be a mirage. Can we consider them to simply be living in their own world, shaped by their beliefs?_

 _Magic is the power that alters reality._

 _Does that make magic the one and only truth of this world?_

 _Magic was once believed to be the product of fiction and fairy tails._

 _Now it is fiction that reveals the truth that reality obscures._

 _Magic is the power that draws the line between life and death._

 _We are humans. We don't know what kind of people we truly are until the moment before our deaths. As death comes to embrace you, you will realize what you are. That is what death is don't you think?_

 _Death is indiscriminate._

 _Good or bad, young or old, it doesn't matter. Death is unrelenting and equal to all. That is why it is so terrifying._

 _The true measure of a person's worth is not how they live, but how they die. It is not what they did in life, but what they did before dying that will leave their mark on the world._

 _Thinking back on it, this story is one full of failures. I was abandoned by my family. I took responsibility for my father's greatest sin. I threw myself into war. I've killed countless men, woman, and children for the sake of my country and my sister. And by today's standards, a failure of a magician. I am someone that nobody would ever give a second thought about._

 _Years ago, I would have willingly died for the sake of peace...or even to receive the answer that I had always wanted, if it was too late to become a real family._

 _Don't be so quick to throw your life away. No matter how disgraceful or pathetic it may be, keep fighting to find your way out until the very end._

 _For me it was a single girl who changed my whole life, my little sister._

 _I am a man with no past before I met her, as far as I'm concerned I didn't even truly exist until that fateful day._

 _I have no past, so there is no point in looking back. But I will never run from the present, or worse, the future._

 _This is my life. I may not leave a lasting mark on the world, but that no longer matters to me._

 _All that matters is that I can see her smile every morning when I wake up...and in my final moment as I die._

* * *

It was a beautiful day just off the coast of Japan in the Pacific Ocean. The sun was just beginning to set, so shades of pink, orange, and yellow could be seen all throughout the sky. Birds were lying through the serene sky and not a single disturbance could be seen in the landscape for miles. Waves crashed up upon a magnificent tower that looked to be made up purely of crystal.

However, this image couldn't have been farther from the truth. Inside of this tower, another scene was playing out, and could be compared to the complete opposite of the tranquil surroundings.

Dead bodies of Jellal's former subordinates littered the pathway up to the final plateau. Blood was splattered all over the sparkling crystals, coating them a deep crimson color as the entire floor was drowned in a sea of blood. Large cracks could be seen all along the length of the inside, signaling that the perpetrator behind this massacre had already activated his signature magic.

Natsu calmly ascended up the final flight of stairs, not a single drop of blood stained his pitch-black attire.

It seemed that they were too late in assigning him this mission, as all of the slaves had already been sacrificed an their magical power absorbed by the lacrima. From the information Natsu had gathered from the now dead men that were strewn across the tower floor, they operated as a cult-like following. Worshipping Zeref as their one and only savior in hopes of creating a world where the magic that conquered the world in ancient times was brought forth again and a new world where only magicians would reign would be brought forth.

This tower was known as the R-System, and it would serve as the source of magical power needed to resurrect Zeref. They would also need a body of someone with the the strength and magical power of a Wizard Saint to be used as a vessel for Zeref's resurrection. That is most likely why Jellal declared war on the Magic Council, he wanted them to send a Wizard Saint after him. How clever. And as a last resort, he would use his own body as the vessel.

The man had truly gone insane. To sacrifice so many people in the hopes of reviving a wizard who almost brought the world to destruction millennia ago in the hopes of creating a new kingdom of magic where only those with strength could exist? Zeref would more likely bring an end to the world instead of create a new one, that's even if it is possible to resurrect the man.

This was the start of a war if Natsu couldn't stop this man. Keeping everyone from dying? That was a little naïve for someone like him. It's war, people die. The only reason he was doing this was to protect his little sister.

With those thoughts in mind, Natsu ascended up the final entranceway and into the peak of the tower.

It was a large, open space that was made purely of light-blue lacrima, just like the rest of the tower, with large pillars of jagged crystals jutting out into the afternoon sky. Unlike the rest of the tower, there was no ceiling so that magic energy from the atmosphere could constantly be absorbed by the tower.

"I must admit, I hadn't expected those old men at the Council to send in you...this may prove to be more of a challenge than I had expected...but you'll make the ideal vessel for Zeref." A voice rang out as Natsu made his way to the center of the room.

The voice was clearly male. The man in question stepped out of the shadows into the center of the room, revealing his appearance for all to see. He was a man in his late twenties of average height with a lean, yet muscular, build. He possessed a pair of dark colored eyes, but his most noticeable features were his spiky, scraggly, azure hair and the red tattoo that he had under an above his right eye. His attire consisted of a high-collared, dark coat with heart-like designs running down the sides, plated armor which covered his abdomen, and dark pants.

"Jellal..." Natsu's distorted voice rang out as he finally stopped walking.

The magic power that was currently being emitted by the two was immense. It would take at least a hundred of the nation's top magicians to even come close to matching it. Not a single drop of their magical power was wasted there were no psions or pushions being emitted, this was pure magical power and potential. To be able to control magic in its purest form requires unrivaled control. If these two were to clash here, the fallout would be cataclysmic.

"I already have the magic collected by the R-System, now that I have the sacrifice Zeref can be revived. You don't even have to be alive when I cast the ritual, I will take the twenty-seven million idea of magic collected in these lacrima crystals and fuse it with your body! You will then be broken down and used to reconstitute Zeref's new body!"

This statement caused Natsu's eyes to widen behind his mask. That was enough magical power to cast a dozen different Strategic-Class magics in rapid succession. To gather this much magic takes an incredible amount of time.

"Twenty-seven million...?" Natsu questioned, more to himself than anything.

Jellal smirked after hearing the man's surprise. "Yes, I've been pouring my magical power into this tower for over a decade now, along with all of my subordinates and the sacrifices I've gathered. A Wizard Saint pouring most of his magical power for over a decade, that's quite a lot, that alone speaks to Zeref's strength! The best part is that even if the tower itself is destroyed, the magical energy within it will remain in the atmosphere because of the [Area-Effect Spell] I've applied to this section of the ocean!"

Natsu sighed in frustration. This would be much more of a problem than he had originally believed it to be.

"But don't worry." Jellal continued arrogantly. "I had gathered enough magical energy to stop having to use my own months ago... My power is at its highest right now! That'll be more than enough to handle you Havoc!"

Jellal was truly a mage to be feared. He was a practitioner of many different types of magic including, [Darkness Magic], [Binding Magic], [Self-Destruction Seals], [Telepathy], the four basic forms of elemental magic, and so much more. However, the magic that he specialized in was [Heavenly Body Magic], an extremely powerful form of magic that revolves around astronomical objects, such as meteors, stars, and black holes. He has tremendous mastery over this particular form of magic.

Jellal bent down on all fours and he deployed the activation sequence from the CAD around his wrist. A second later a yellow magic circle appeared beneath him and his body began to glow yellow. **[Meteor]** , a spell that surrounds his body in a cloak of **[Heavenly Body Magic]** , allowing him to move through the air at incredible speeds. Even is someone could detect his trajectory, it is nearly impossible to catch him. With this spell, he would assault his opponents with quick, yet powerful, melee attacks.

A moment later, Jellal blurred out of existence, leaving behind nothing but a yellow stream of energy.

Natsu saw that Jellal had activated **[Meteor]** , so he quickly wrapped himself up in a veil of his lightning, which instead of being used offensively, was used to electrically stimulate his nervous system. This speeds up neural synapses to react faster, and push physical prowess to the absolute limit, allowing for tremendous raw speed.

Natsu wrapped himself up even further, causing his hair to spike up. This was the final stage of the **[Lightning Release Armor]** , its speed was comparable to instantaneous teleportation. He would need it if he wanted to keep up with Jellal.

Just as he finished his spell, Natsu quickly vanished, dodging an elbow that Jellal sent at him in the process as the man appeared right behind him. Natsu immediately reappeared at Jellal's side and delivered a powerful backhand chop to the man. Jellal managed to move to the left and bring his arm up in time to block the blow, but he was still sent back a dozen yards.

Blood slowly dripped from the blue-haired man's mouth as he wiped it away with his thumb. He had made a grave error in misjudging his opponent, there was a reason that Havoc was known as the fastest magician in Japan.

Jellal disappeared in a burst of speed once again, as did Natsu.

Flashes of light ad bursts of lightning sparked in the air every time the two Wizard Saints traded blows. These were likely the two fastest mages in all of Japan, if not the world. Jellal cloaked his body in the energy given off by stars to speed up his movements and reactions, while Natsu was moving as fast as natural lightning.

Natsu blocked a backhand strike sent at him by Jellal and grabbed hold of the arm to pull him forward and delivered an elbow to the gut. Jellal grunted, but stood his ground. He recovered in an instant and sent a knee into his masked opponent's chest, sending the man back a few feet.

Natsu attempted to kick Jellal in the face, but the blue haired man bent backwards to avoid the strike. Natsu used his momentum to spin around and deliver a backhand chop to Jellal's chest sending him right into the ground, cracking it slightly. Jellal quickly rolled out of the way of a devastating stomp, as Natsu surrounded his foot with a transparent bubble, signaling to Jellal the use of his signature **[Calamity]** magic. He could not afford to be hit with one of those attacks.

Natsu did not give Jellal time to recover as he sent a kick at the man, still wrapped up in his lightning cloak, and sent him another dozen yards away into one of the large pillars of lacrima.

Jellal quickly removed himself from the crater his body had created and reactivated his **[Meteor]**.

The two mages rushed each other at high speeds once again.

Most magicians favor training themselves in magic rather than in physical abilities. Only a rare few of them concentrate on both. This is not wrong, as this is a world based on magic and where much of your worth with be determined by magic. But unless you are one of the few magicians who can cast a spell in less than 0.05 seconds, the body will usually move faster. Those who perfect physical combat along with magic and **[Movement-Type Spells]** will be almost untouchable.

The Ten Wizard Saints are magicians who excel in both magical and physical combat. This is what makes them the strongest magicians Japan has at its disposal.

Natsu pulled out both of his trademark knives and charged at Jellal with high speeds once more. He sent a slash towards Jellal's face, but it was avoided as the man leaned back. He brought his second knife out and slashed Jellal across the chest before he could recover.

Jellal cringed and flipped back, however, just as he landed he was forced to dodge several stabs Natsu sent his way. Natsu was a master of bladed combat, even while Jellal had his **[Meteor]** active, the blue-haired man barely escaped death each and every time one of those knives was sent his way. With each slight movement of the hand, a scratch appeared on Jellal's body, whether it was the face, arms, chest.

Just after Jellal had managed to dodge a slash, Natsu brought his foot up and sent a kick into Jellal's chest, launching him into the air. That didn't last long however, as Natsu attached the handle of one his knives to a cable in his belt and launched it in Jellal's direction. The cable wrapped around the man's neck before a surge of lightning coursed through it, electrocuting the man it was in contact with.

Jellal summoned all of his willpower and cut the chord with a blade of **[Wind Magic]** , after which he jumped backwards to gain some distance between them, causing the knife to stab through the crystal floor.

Natsu wouldn't give him any breathing room as he rushed at Jellal once more, retrieving his blade in the process and discarding the unusable cable.

With a swipe of his cloth-covered hand, Natsu swiftly sent a slash at Jellal's face. The man leaned back once more, thinking that he had successfully dodged, but not a moment later a sharp pain erupted across his nose and face. Blood gushed out of the gash that horizontally transversed the length of his face.

He gripped his face in pain just before a second blade was driven straight through his abdomen and he was kicked across the room.

The heavenly body mage quickly flipped in mid-air and recovered by digging his feet into the lacrima to slow down his momentum. He gripped the handle of the blade in his stomach and swiftly pulled it out, after which he crushed the knife with his enhanced strength. He seared his stab wound closed with a bit of **[Fire Magic]** before reactivating **[Meteor]** and rushing his opponent once more.

Natsu enhanced his last remaining blade with lightning before throwing it at Jellal, intent on piercing his heart with its superior speed and strength. However, Jellal saw it coming and shattered it with a powerful sphere of light energy.

The elder man continued his charge.

Jellal sent several beams of light at Natsu, which he dodged with his superior speed. Natsu sent a right hook at Jellal, but it was blocked with a slight cringe, after which Jellal sent a kick towards his chest. The kick was blocked using an x-shaped guard across his chest, but it did sent him back several yards.

Natsu jumped into the air above Jellal and brought a kick down, aiming for Jellal's head. Said man had no time to dodge, so he was forced to bring both arms above his head to lessen the blow. The power of the kick was enough to cause the ground to crack beneath Jellal and send his legs into it slightly, cutting them from the jagged edges of the lacrima.

Natsu was eventually forced to land due to the effects of gravity, and just as he did, he was forced to bend backwards to avoid a backhanded swing from Jellal's arm. The black-haired mage did a few backflips in mid-air as he was forced to avoid a large beam of energy being sent his way at close range.

Jellal forced his legs out of the ground as his blood dripped along the crystal floor. He reactivated his cloak of heavenly energy and sped towards his opponent once more.

Jellal brought out his right leg and attempted to break his opponent's ribs with the sheer force behind it. Natsu quickly jumped, getting just enough airtime to evade the swift kick, and retaliated with a kick of his own. Jellal used the momentum from his kick and separated away from Natsu, successfully evading the oncoming strike, and swiped his hand, sending several arrows of light towards the black-haired mage.

Natsu quickly saw the oncoming spell and activated **[Gust]** , releasing a hefty amount of wind from his body, whichbegan to destroy anything within its immediate radius. This included Jellal's spell, the crystals protruding from the floor, and even part of the floor itself. Jellal was also sent back several meters from the intense blast of wind, leaving him completely winded and vulnerable for a further attack.

He noticed this opportunity and quickly flashed to Jellal was. Natsu cloaked his arm in a tornado and placed it on Jellal. **"[Cyclone]."** He placed his hand on Jellal's right shoulder, and propelled the winded man away from him, all the while inflicting heavy damage from the force of the tornado.

Jellal was paralyzed temporarily from that last spell, but recovered soon after his back impacted the far wall of the room. He spat out some blood before placing his hands in an odd symbol. His left palm was open and facing up with all his fingers were spread out, while his right hand was on top of his left and closed into a fist with only his middle and index fingers sticking out.

"Time for you to have a glimpse, of real destructive power!" Jellal yelled as seven magic circles appeared in the air above them.

 **"[Seven-Star Sword]!"** Each of the seven magic circles released a tremendous beam of energy, piercing straight through the lacrima floor below and down to the bottom of the tower. The spell was cast with such speed that Natsu had no time to dodge, as he had already deactivated his cloak of lightning, ans was caught right in the middle of one of the beams.

As the spell ended, seven large holes could be seen that pierced right through the lacrima down to the floor below. Natsu was nowhere in sight.

"This magic is comparable in power to that of an actual meteor. It isn't so surprising that it was even able to deal with one of the Ten Wizard Saints...though it looks like I overdid it. Any further damage to the R-System would be a pain to deal with, the magic is already starting to leak out." Jellal commented as he walked towards one of the holes to see where his opponent's body had ended up.

Just as he looked into one of the massive craters, he heard a familiar voice ring out.

 **"[Sango]."** From the floor below, Natsu unleashed a massive charge of electricity from his hand that formed into a wide blast and was used to devastate the entire area, with no specific target in mind.

The entire upper floor was caught in the blast as violent bolts of lightning shot up everywhere, centering around a large pillar of lightning until it exploded.

The aftermath of the spell was not pretty. A majority of the floor was torn apart and was barely being held together by small bridges of lacrima that looked as it they would fall apart at any minute. Storm clouds were beginning to gather above the tower due to the sudden increase in heat from the lightning. Jellal was barely standing after being hit with the full force of natural lightning, his body was mostly charred and his clothing was barely intact.

Natsu quickly turned his body into lightning and reached the top floor in an instant.

Despite all of his injuries, Jellal didn't seemed at all deterred that he was almost defeated or that his precious tower was in pieces.

"I'm going to finish you in an instant. You're going to regret standing back up again." Jellal stated

Jellal then bent down and pointed his hands downwards, with all fingers closed except for the index and middle fingers. **"[True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema]!"** He then began to move his right hand until it slowly pointed upwards, causing the now purple clouds to start to begin circling, creating what appeared to be a cyclone. From the center of said cyclone, a glowing orb began to form and grow in size until it reached the size of an actual meteor. The meteor then emerged from the circling clouds and began quickly falling to earth.

Natsu silently cursed as he remembered that Jellal was Japan's only other Strategic-Class magician. Not to mention that he was one of the only magicians alive who could call upon the activation sequence from memory alone, bypassing CADs and essentially putting him just below superpowers. If that meteor hit, then the whole tower would be destroyed and them along with it. Natsu was limited in this situation because he couldn't use **[Calamity: Tremor** **]** here, a creation of an earthquake and vibrations in the air could have easily have stopped this spell, but it also would have created massive tsunamis that killed hundreds of thousands of people near the coasts of Japan.

Other than those spells, he only had one other option. It seemed that he was short on time, so it was his only option at the moment.

 **"[Indra's Arrow]"**

Using his **[Calamity]** based lightning magic, he released a massive amount of lightning from his body and shaped it into a large, blue ethereal skeleton covered in armor, lightning coursing all our through it as it solidified, around him. The ethereal warrior raised up its arms and a longbow and arrow conjured of lightning began to form as it took aim at the falling meteor. Not a moment later did the warrior fire the arrow, causing a powerful shockwave to form just from its release.

The massive arrow soared through the afternoon sky at tremendous speeds, easily breaking the sound barrier. Only a second after being fired from the tower did it meet the falling meteor and pierce right through it, it continued to fly through the dark skies as it transcended above the clouds before Natsu dispelled it.

What was Jellal's strongest spell imploded on itself and scattered across the night sky, forming much smaller meteors that rained down at slow speeds and finally found their home in the depths of the ocean floor, not even coming close to the tower. The impact of the arrow piercing through the meteor took the majority of their momentum away and were forced to scatter across the ocean's surface, no different from the raindrops that had started to fall.

This was Natsu's strongest non-strategic spell. It had yet to be determined if it was capable of being a Strategic-Class spell though, as that was the first time he field tested it. It was still a work in progress.

Natsu's attention had been completely focused on stopping the Strategic-Class magic that he failed to notice Jellal in the process of casting one last spell with the last of his magical power.

Jellal had his arms crossed above his head as all nearby shadows began to be drawn to him. A small black orb which was rapidly growing in size with glowing lights inside of it was brought into existence, and once it finally reached a large enough size, it was hurled at Natsu who had just fired an arrow made of lightning. The orb was incredibly dense and held a tremendous amount of gravity to crush its target. Its nature is comparable to a black hole, due to its incredible pull on the surrounding materials, people, and light.

"Be erased from existence! **[Altairis]!** " Jellal yelled just as he hurled the massive orb at Natsu.

Natsu's attention returned to his opponent and his eyes widened at what he saw. An enormous black hole was sucking in and obliterating everything in its path as it made its way towards him.

There was no time to move out of the way, so he willed the ethereal warrior surrounding his body to hold back the massive orb for as long as it could to reduce the momentum of the spell.

Slowly, but surely, Jellal's spell began to rip off the armor and the skin of his astral projection before the actual skeletal structure began to be crushed from the gravity. It seemed that Natsu had no other choice, he couldn't afford to worry about the safety of the coasts at the moment, surely Jura would have taken countermeasures to prevent ant tsunamis.

He took a stance and brought his left arm across his body and cocked it back, preparing to strike. Once again, his fist became surrounded by a large, transparent bubble, signaling the use of one of his most devastating spells.

As the large black hole destroyed the last of Natsu's ethereal projection, he slammed his fist into the air in front of him, producing massive cracks all throughout the air before him. That is when the vibrations hit. The full force of an earthquake began pushing the massive orb back and eventually taking control of the situation. The black hole slowly began to crack from the center outwards, until it couldn't withstand any more pressure and shattered into thousands of tiny pieces before dispersing.

The result of such a powerful spell to the surrounding area was indeed devastating, as the majority of the level they had been standing on was almost completely shattered and the massive crystal walls that had been surrounding them were brown away and crushed into nothingness.

Natsu's breathing had become ragged and he was forced onto one knee. His clothing was torn all over the place and the bottom half of his mask was cracked, revealing his jawline and mouth.

It didn't matter at the moment as the only other person here would be dead soon enough. He glared at his opponent from behind his mask for having to push himself so far. Had he not been limited because of his surroundings, this fight would have been over a long time ago.

"Wha-what are you!?" Jellal screamed, he was sure that his last spell should have killed his fellow Wizard Saint for good and he would be able to finally begin the ritual to revive Zeref.

Natsu wasn't even going to humor the man with a response as he would be dead in a matter of moments. He shut his left eye and began to build up magic there for the final spell Jellal would feel. _' **[Amaterasu].'**_ Natsu's left eye immediately opened and produced black flames at his focal point, in this case Jellal.

"AAAHHHH!" Jellal immediately tried to extinguish the flames by using **[Water Magic]** with what little magical power he had left.

It was useless. The **[Amaterasu]** was Natsu's highest level of fire. The flames are almost impossible to avoid, the only chance his target had of escaping them when cast was to be fast enough. Maybe earlier Jellal would have been able to, but not when he was this low on magical power. There was no point in even trying to put them out. Once cast, the black flames can continue to burn for seven days and seven nights until their target is completely devoured by them, even if their target is other forms of fire. They cannot be extinguished, whether by normal means or by the most powerful water mage in existence, the flames will continue to burn. They are said to be the flames from hell and burn as hot as the sun.

It was the pinnacle of **[Fire Magic]**.

Natsu watched on with indifference as the flames spread over Jellal's entire body before consuming him. His bloodcurdling screams could be heard for a few more moments before they ceased as the flames lost the shape of a human body and scattered across the crystalized floor.

Nothing remained of what once was Jellal, not even ashes.

Natsu sighed at the thought of having to tell his sensei how his younger brother died, as he extinguished the black flames. It was sure to be an unpleasant conversation. He had really wished Mystogan had been wrong this morning.

Raindrops ran across Natsu's field of vision as he looked around to the surrounding area.

 _'Now what am I supposed to do about this tower?'_

* * *

First High School's campus was as beautiful as ever. Students on their way home from their second day from school could bask in the warm sunlight that saturated the April atmosphere. The campus was bathed in shades of pink, orange, and yellow as the sun was just setting. Though there had been some heavy rain, lightning storms, and other sever weather conditions off the coast of Japan, as reported by the terminals of every student as a precaution, they had long since subsided.

Natsu had been correct when he assumed that class would be ending later than usual today, as all of the classrooms, specialized courses, and club rooms had been available for all students today. Some students were even able to view specialized classes currently in session, those had been a large attraction for the events of the day.

The final bell had rang not fifteen minutes ago, and now all of the students of First High School were heading home for the day or to visit a café to spend some extra time with their newly-made friends, or whatever it is that they did.

At least, that was the case for most of the students.

Near the main gates of the campus, two groups of students could be seen arguing.

The first group was made up of primarily Course 1 students, as could be assumed from the eight-petalled flower emblem that adorned their left chest. They were led by a man and a woman, both of whom could be easily recognized due to their silver hair.

While the second group consisted of two Course 2 students, an older teen and a younger woman, and a Course 1 student. These three were Gray Milkovich, Wendy Marvell, and Mavis Vermillion.

This was not as unexpected as one might believe it to be as these two particular groups had been clashing all day.

Their first encounter had been in the cafeteria during lunch.

This particular group of Blooms had tried to order order Wendy, Gray, and Natsu to vacate the table that they were occupying in order to sit with Mavis, someone who they deemed had too high of a reputation to maintain to be associating herself with Weeds.

Needless to say things went downhill quite fast during that particular lunch. When the Weeds refused their demand, they were about to resort to violence before they were scared away with Mavis's illusions.

Sadly, that wasn't the end of it.

The second encounter of these two groups was this afternoon, during a visit to a specialist class.

In the remote precision laboratory often times referred to as the 'shooting range', a practical class was being carried out by 3rd year class A.

The main attraction to this class for the freshmen, Course 1 and 2 alike, was the Student Council President, Ultear Milkovich.

The Student Council was not necessarily chosen by grades, in fact, the only 3rd year student serving this term was the President. However, she was a prodigy in the use of remote precision magic, something that even awed her brothers every time they witnessed it. She had brought countless awards to the school and was used to promote the quality of magicians being taught at First High School.

She was also one of the big three, a group of the strongest and brightest students at First High School, Ultear Milkovich, Erza Scarlet, and Laxus Dreyar. All three of them would no doubt be accepted into the National University of Magic if they wished, and lead the way for the next generation of magicians in Japan.

Because of her reputation, many of the new students were packed around the range trying to see her legendary skill for themselves, she was something of an idol of the school. Her extraordinary skill combined with her astounding beauty and grace, she drew the attention of the students in more ways than one. Due to how many people wanted to observe the class, the number who could visit was limited.

Gray, Wendy, and Mavis had gotten there early and had camped up in the front row. Gray may have been her brother, but he rarely was able to catch a glimpse of her magic because of his own intense training and otherwise rigorous activity. This is what caused another major discord between them and the Blooms. They had not even bothered to put the fact that they were together with the freshmen representative, the Blooms led by Lisanna and Elfman were outright furious that they weren't able to observe the class where the 'Weeds' were.

They were still quite upset that they weren't able to sit with the freshmen representative during lunch. Being the freshmen representative was akin to being the most popular and promising freshman of the incoming class. The current Student Council President had been her year's freshmen representative, and they were damned if they would let a chance slip by to become friends with someone like that.

The third encounter was occurring at this very moment.

"Won't all of you just leave Mavis-chan alone? She has already made it clear that she doesn't wish to hang around with you any longer today! It's not the place for any of you to say otherwise, is it?" Surprisingly it was Wendy who was the first one to lash out at the unreasonable behavior of the first course students.

Normally, she was a shy and polite girl who would prefer not to stand out or get on anyone's bad side, but these people were really getting on her nerves. These Blooms just wouldn't take the hint.

This would either lead to a confrontation or one of the sides backing down. It would most likely be the former.

"Wendy-chan..."

Mavis was happy that her new friends were standing up for her, but she didn't want to put them through all this trouble. This incident would most likely lead to the first course students discriminating against them even more.

"Don't apologize Mavis, you aren't at fault in the least." Gray said, noticing her obvious anxiety.

"But..." She tried to reply, but she was immediately cut off.

"No buts. We may have only known each other for a day or two, but we're friends. And friends don't abandon each other. Besides, something like this was bound to happen eventually, better to get it over with sooner rather than later."

Gray was ready for a fight if it came their way. These pricks had been trying his every last nerve. He was usually calm and collected, but everyone had a breaking point and these first course students were coming dangerously close to it. He may have been a second course student, but he could be as dangerous as any other member of his family if it came down to it. Oh how he wanted to shove a sword made of ice through that silver-haired princess's chest.

Mavis didn't voice it, but she was happy about Gray's words. People who abandoned their friends and family were were nothing more than trash to her. This belief stemmed from how easily her Onii-sama's family was able to cast him aside and treat him as if he had never existed. She saw how hurt he was and she was there to comfort him. Seeing her Onii-sama in that state was what made her hate people like this with a passion.

Watching from directly in front of the Course 2 students, the Blooms were glaring daggers at Gray who was so easily conversing with whom they were striving to become friends with. That Weed was absolutely unworthy of associating himself with someone as beautiful and talented as their freshmen representative. They needed to draw the line between Course 1 and Course 2 so that instances like this would never happen again. It was how the school had always done things, so why stop now?

The group of Course 1 students were composed of Lisanna Strauss, Elfman Strauss, Lucy Heartfilia, and several other faceless students. It was not so surprising that these three in particular would be trying to attach themselves to the freshmen representative right from the start.

Off to the side of the two groups, Meredy Dragneel and Yukino Strauss could be seen watching the scene unfold before them, embarrassment obvious on their faces. The fact that they were related to or were friends with those trying to cling onto Mavis so eagerly, embarrassed them to no end. Right now they were beginning to question why it was that they even bothered with the three that were a part of that group.

Yukino was regretting that she had not gone ahead like she had previously been planning to do as per Meredy's request.

Meredy had been waiting for Lisanna, Elfman, and Lucy because they all lived in the same direction, therefore they had agreed to ride together in the same limousine provided for them by their families, Yukino usually chose to take the train and not associate herself with them, but right now, Meredy was beginning to think that she should just ride home with Yukino for the day.

Back with the two groups, the first course students were beginning to lose their patience.

Mavis, Gray, and Wendy had been planning to walk to the station together after the last bell had rung, as per what Natsu had instructed them to do. However, they were ambushed just before they were about to leave the school grounds by those Course 1 students who had been bothering them throughout the day.

Mavis had come to class today, thinking that she wouldn't end up being the best of friends with any of her classmates, but she would at least try to be polite to them. Those thoughts had been cast aside long ago, once she had witnessed how they treated her brother and new-found friends. Then they kept pestering her throughout the rest of the day. She knew what their real intentions were and she was not having any of it.

"What right do you have to keep her from us!? You're nothing more than a misfit group of lowly Weeds, nothing more than replacements for us Blooms!" Was Lisanna's harsh reply to Wendy's outburst.

"She probably wants to spend some time with us Blooms instead of you anyway." Was Elfman's reply.

All three of the members of Mavis's group were growing more and more irritated with every excuse that they sputtered out.

"That's right! We're sorry Vermillion-san, but we just want a little more time!" That was Lucy and that is where the flood gates broke loose.

Gray gave a hearty laugh at their selfishness.

"That's self-justification! Find another time for it. You've ignored Mavis's intentions and you didn't even consult her or anything. You've only driven her farther away from you with your actions. You're high school students already, don't you know anything?"

Gray's words and attitude were meant to provoke the other group into making a move, that way they could claim self-defense against the use of magic. It was rather clever if one thought about it. It was clear that these Course 1 students were getting riled up and had no intention of dropping the issue, there was no way of avoiding confrontation. Being able to clam that they were only defending themselves from the first course students was the least that he could do for Mavis's and Wendy's sake.

Oh but may Kami have mercy on his soul when Ultear-nee finds out about this. Just thinking about what his elder sister would do to him sent shivers down his spine.

As expected, his provocation enraged the two Strauss siblings in particular.

"Shut up! Another class, much less Weeds, have no business interfering in matters concerning us Blooms!" Lisanna shouted, while Elfman nodded vigorously to support his sister's words.

The one who reacted to these harsh words, once again, was Wendy. "Right now we are all just freshmen. It's only the second day of high school, just how much better do you think you Blooms are right now!?"

She wasn't especially loud, but Wendy's voice echoed throughout the school courtyard.

 _'Things are about to get a bit out of hand.'_ Mavis thought to herself as she sighed, her exasperation was drowned out by the enraged first course students.

"...If you want to know just how much better we are...then I guess I'll just have to educate you." Lisanna threatened.

"By all means, show us!" At Lisanna's threat, Gray responded aggressively. It seemed that nothing other than a violent outcome could be expected.

Lisanna smirked at the Weed's response. She had not even bothered to learn their names. While this violation was not only against school rules, but the law itself, she would put these Weeds in their place nonetheless.

"As you wish!"

Lisanna quickly brushed her veil out of the was and pulled out a pistol-shaped CAD.

CADs were generally restricted on campus.

The only ones who were allowed to carry CADs on campus were Student Council members and members of select committees.

The use of magic was strictly regulated by law, especially the use of magic against another person. Unless it was for self-defense, the use of magic against another person for violence was a serious offense.

The mere possession of CADs off campus was not restricted though, there would be no point. CADs are indispensable tools for modern day magicians, but they were not essential for the use of magic. CADs are meant to speed up the activation of magic, but magic can still be used without CADs, albeit at a much slower speed. Therefore, the law does not prohibit the mere possession of CADs off campus was not restricted.

However, on campus was an entirely different story. Almost every student at First High School brought a CAD to school, it was not unusual for magicians or magicians-to-be to carry a CAD around with them everywhere they went.

The procedure for students who posses CADs was to store them in the office before class started, and to pick them up after the final bell had rung. Therefore, it was not uncommon for a student to posses a CAD upon leaving campus.

Though if the they were to direst said CAD at a fellow student, it would become quite the situation...more like an emergency. There was a reason that magic was the favored weapon for the military, it was incredibly dangerous and often times deadly.

The situation would be even worse if the CAD was an attack powered emphasizing specialized CAD...just like the one currently taking aim at Gray.

There were two types CADs, general and specialized.

The general types placed less of a burden on the user, but they were capable of storing a wide range of up to 99 activation sequences. The specialized model is only capable of storing 9 activation sequences at most, but it possesses subsystems that were able to reduce the burden on the user, making the magic far easier and faster to invoke.

By nature, aggressive combat oriented magic sequences are usually stored within specialized models.

It seemed that Lisanna wasn't just running her mouth as she had been all day. The finesse with which she drew her CAD, along with the speed at which she took aim, and started the activation sequence proved that she was quite skilled.

There are many Course 1 student who are admitted to this school with excellent results not as a result of extensive studying of magic or because of intense training, but because good genetics. Those with genes from powerful and prominent magicians generally do not train or push themselves as hard as those without them do. Because of this, while their skills start off high, they remain stagnant.

The activation sequence was a blueprint of the magic they were about to invoke. It is a program that directs the construction of the magic ritual.

After expansion, the expanding activation sequence is then read by the magic processing area of the subconscious and variables such as coordinates, output, and duration are inputted, the result is inserted alongside the activation sequence and gives rise to the completed magic ritual.

The completed magic ritual is then taken from the operations area of the subconscious and transferred to the lowest level of the conscious, whereupon it can be projected upon the outside world, as the magic ritual projects the eidios, or information events, and refers to the event where information is overwritten.

Information is associated with events.

If the information is rewritten, the event will be rewritten.

As the nature of phenomena is written in psions, modifications to these will result in real world events being rewritten.

The amount of psions that a person possesses is determined by their magic power.

This is what modern magic is.

The process is transferred from the magician to the CAD, then back to the magician.

If this flow of psions is disrupted, then the magic dependent on the CAD will no longer work.

If the magic ritual is disrupted by anyway, such as the magician losing focus on the magic ritual, then the magic will also be disrupted.

Magic is a very fickle process.

"All of you stop right there! Using magic on others for any purpose other than self-defense is not only a violation of school rules, but against the law as well!" An older female voice warned as she lifted up her own CAD as she and another woman approached.

Though, it seemed as if Lisanna hadn't heard her as her activation sequence continued to deploy, while the rest of the Course 1 students turned pale at the new arrivals.

The situation was about to turn from bad to worse, as her activation sequence was almost completed. That was before a voice rang out from outside of the school gates.

"Will you fly, or will you fall?"

Before anyone could ponder what those words meant or who they came from, every Course 1 student was brought to their knees. An aura that radiated nothing but evil, despair, and death was dropped upon them with such magnitude that it felt as if their center of gravity had been multiplied by a thousand.

Every one of them saw the rotting corpses littering the courtyard.

The struggled to cling to their pathetic lives as they drowned in a sea of blood.

They screamed in horror as they were ripped limb from limb.

They cried for mercy as their beating hearts were ripped from their chest and crushed in the hands of a demon.

They stared into the soulless eyes of the devil as he made his presence known.

Mavis, Wendy, Gray, Meredy, Yukino, and the new arrivals were perfectly fine, but they could feel what was happening to the students in front of them.

The first course students who had been so high and mighty not a moment ago were drowned in an ocean of despair and hopelessness as their minds were tortured to the utmost limit as they were suffocated by the malefic killing intent.

The activation sequence that Lisanna had been shattered long ago, right after she fell prey to the suffocating aura that flooded their senses.

The group of students who had been causing so much trouble up until now had already succumbed to unconsciousness. The stench of urine stained their bodies, while they were left foaming at the mouth, some of them had even vomited before giving into their fear. Some of their minds had even given in before they managed to close their eyes, the eyes that were absolutely lifeless and filled with nothing but absolute horror and agony.

"It seems that not one of you could fly...I have no time for trash such as yourselves."

A moment later, the cause of all this walked through the school gates. His fairly long, spiky pink hair fluttered in the wind, his emblem-less First High School uniform had not a single spec of dirt on it, his face didn't have a single spec of blood tarnishing it. However, his eyes told those who were still conscious that he was in no mood to play around.

Normally, he would have only given them a small taste of his killing intent, but he was not in the mood for games. He had just killed the man he once saw as his elder brother, then he had to deal with cleanup regarding the tower and the Magic Council. He had just gotten back from Mystogan's temple after informing him of the events that had transpired and offering his condolences. This is what led him to unleashing a good fifteen percent of his bloodlust and killing intent upon those who wished to push his mood even further.

"Onii-sama!" Mavis squealed before rushing into the arms of her beloved brother.

His little sister's embrace may have been the only thing that was able to lighten his mood at the moment.

Mavis's cries elicited the attention of not only her brother, but every other conscious student in the courtyard as well.

All of them stared in shock at who had cause those Course 1 students to crumple to the ground in terror.

Natsu's attention drifted from Mavis, whom was still in his arms, to the other students in the courtyard. More specifically, the upperclassman who had only just arrived.

Ultear lowered her CAD, as she was just about to stop the activation sequence before any harm could befall the students, at least that was until Natsu arrived. She knew that there was more to him when they first met, but for him to be able to release such a large killing intent was even beyond her wildest dreams.

Killing intent is released through the control of both psions and pushions. While the psions are thought particles, pushions were based off of emotions. And by perfectly combining the two simultaneously along with releasing pure emotions and imagery, killing intent was produced. It was incredible feat, though most magicians their age were only able to produce enough to send a shiver down someone's spine.

She knew there was a reason why she was so drawn to this man, he is quite interesting.

The other woman Natsu had not yet had any interactions with. She was a young woman with long scarlet hair that reached down to her mid-back. She had a pair of chocolatey brown eyes, though her right eye was covered by her long bangs. She possessed a slender, voluptuous figure that could only be described as amazing. She too, lacked the usual veil on her uniform. Her white skirt was much shorter than the standard one, which revealed quite a bit of her thighs but it also gave her legs more mobility for combat situations. She also adorned a pair of long, black boots.

If Natsu's memory served correctly, then this was Erza Scarlet. According to the Student Council introduction given during the entrance ceremony, she was the 3rd year Public Morals Committee Chief, and therefore, it was not uncommon for her to make an appearance at a commotion such as this.

Natsu would leave the introductions for later, he had only just gotten to the scene but he still intended to fulfill his promise of walking home with his little sister.

"I apologize for bothering you senpais, but right now we really must be going." Natsu informed the two upperclassman as he gave a slight bow.

"Erza, it's fine already. No magic was successfully used, so there is no need to detain any of them." Ultear offered to Erza just as she saw her about to break out her CAD.

Erza relented upon hearing Ultear's words and relaxed her wrist that had the CAD on it.

"...Since the President has said so, you may all leave now. However, please refrain from being part of another incident like this one."

Natsu noted that it seemed as though Erza was a rather strict and serious woman, who paid close attention to the rules.

Natsu gave another slight bow before walking away with Mavis in tow. Gray gave one last look to his elder sister before walking out the gates with Wendy as well.

The two upperclassman turned their attention from the main gates to the unconscious Course 1 students. They both sighed before dragging away the Lisanna, who had been the only one who was about to activate any magic. She wouldn't be getting off as easy as those who were only about to defend themselves had. Had she completed that highly aggressive spell, one of those students may very well be dead. She'll be lucky to not be expelled after committing such a stupid act on her second day.

It seems neither one of them would be going home early today.

* * *

It was already well into the night, almost midnight in fact, as Natsu sipped on a glass of the finest wine he had, while he reclined back on the sofa.

He wasn't an alcoholic by any means of the word, nor did he drink on a regular basis, but it had been a long day and he needed a little something to help him relax. If he had been able to relax as usual, he would have been in his bed right beside Mavis as he held he in his arms, that's where she belonged after all.

He chuckled to himself as he remembered the pouting face of his little sister when he told her to head to bed on her own.

As he remembered this, he could not help but be reminded of why he swore to protect her.

She was his angel that illuminated the darkness in his heart.

The girl that had been by his side through all his ups and downs.

The only family that he had ever had, and that he would ever need.

If he had to become the devil himself to protect her, then so be it. He was already half way there anyways. Where there is light, there will always be darkness. As Natsu sat there all of battles he had fought in, all of the blood that he had shed, all of the lives that he had taken, all the lives that he had destroyed, all of the terror filled glares, all of the soldiers that he had left for dead, all the lives he had saved, and all of the families he had broken passed through his mind.

Many referred to him as Havoc, others called him a monster, some even thought of him as a demon who haunted their nightmares. He was a merciless assassin who killed with extreme prejudice, leaving none of whom had the misfortune of being his targets alive. Some thought of him as nothing more than an urban legend that was created by the veteran soldiers in order to scare the rookies. That was more along the lines of wishful thinking. He could remember the faces of those who had thought him to be a myth as he slaughtered them one by one.

He could only laugh when he recalled that there was a time when he thought war was unnecessary and strove to find a way to bring about world peace.

Oh how things change over time.

He had really lived a life that most people could never even imagine, many would have trouble differentiating between fantasy and reality if they were to listen to his story.

Natsu took another sip of wine as his mind drifted to what had happened this evening.

As planned they had left campus with Gray and Wendy, where they had a pleasant conversation about what had gone on with them and the first course students.

It seemed that some people from his past just never change. Lisanna had always been an obnoxious little princess. He smiled at the fact that there was no way she would get off without a reprimand on her official documents.

After some light discussion about the different models of CADs such as the one that was pulled on them, they finally reached the train station were they parted ways.

After a delicious meal containing lots of meat, fresh seafood, salad, and vegetables, him and Mavis began to wind down for the night. One thing that would never change about him was his enormous appetite. He had expended a lot of energy fighting another member of the Wizard Saints, so it was only natural, he supposed. Or perhaps it was due to the titanic amount of magic power that he had within his body.

Though he did come from two magicians, the majority of his own ability came from training both his body and his magic to the utmost limits. He wouldn't succumb to the normal belief that just because he was born with power he didn't need to train himself further. He had killed more magicians who believed that than he could count. After all, his preferred method of combat was pure hand-to-hand combat and bladed combat. Two fighting styles that were only enhanced with the use of magic.

There were times that magic couldn't be used, such as espionage or infiltration missions. Sometimes magic was no better than sounding off an alarm and screaming that you were there. Unless you had incredible control, psions and magical energy were quite easy to trace. Fortunately, he did have that level of control, but that didn't mean he could be careless.

Once dinner had ended, Natsu and Mavis took their positions on the couch, with Mavis choosing to seek comfort in her Onii-sama's arms. From there onwards, was a discussion of why Natsu had to leave during lunch and what had occurred not to long afterwards. Needless to say, Mavis was speechless. It wasn't everyday that someone committed an act of terrorism on the Magic Council.

Mavis deepened their embrace as if trying to comfort him. She may have not had any personal interactions with Jellal, like the way she did with Mystogan, but she remembered that he and Natsu were quite close during her brother's childhood, at least before he became a bounty hunter. He may not have shown it outwardly, but she knew that this was weighing heavily on his mind. She was his little sister after all, she knew everything about him.

She was his precious imouto. She would always remain faithfully by his side, even if it meant accepting a side of him that would paint the devil as a saint. She had always been there to comfort him when his heart was broken, or to wash away the blood that stained his hands after every hunt and mission. Taking a life had been hard in his early years, the only thing that would ease his conscious was bathing himself in the purity and innocence that was Mavis. She would be there to comfort him when he was lost, forever and always. She was his and he was hers. That is why they were blessed with being siblings, they were made for each other.

Naturally, he had been curious about the events that had transpired leading up to what happened at the school's main gates, it would be quite troublesome if he was questioned about it later and didn't know the full story. He had expected some of the Course 1 students to try and cling onto Mavis and follow her around like some kind of fan club, though he didn't expect things to turn out violent so early on in the semester.

What a pain, it seemed that everywhere he went trouble followed today.

Another thing that hadn't changed over the years was his tremendous amount of bad luck, it was as if he was cursed.

Sometimes he wondered if it was karma for everything that he had done over the past eight and a half years.

And it seemed as if fate still had plans for him today.

Natsu was brought out of his musings as he heard the phone ring.

They may have lived in an advanced age of technology where terminals were the foremost form of communication, but every home still had a phone. Such things as cell phones had been replaced by mobile terminals, however, when at home the preferred form of contact was through the house phone.

"May I ask who would be calling at such a late hour...? Though I already have a guess at who would want to contact me as soon as possible." Natsu spoke in a professional tone as he took another sip of wine. It seemed this night would go on for a bit longer.

"[Natsu...you sound all grown up.]"

"You sound as though the years have taken their toll on you...Igneel." Natsu commented as he held the phone close to his ear. Igneel may be one of the few people from his past that he was willing to have a civil conversation with. The only person he really hated from his prior clan was his father, the rest he just couldn't bring himself to care about.

There were many people that annoyed him to no end or that he wouldn't mind killing such as Lisanna and Elfman, if today was any indication to go by. But he just couldn't bring himself to hate any of them. Not because he wanted them to still accept him one day, but because any time he thought about them it just felt like a waste of time. Like his mind literally bored itself to exhaustion just remembering their names.

"[A lot has changed ever since you left...I made certain of that.]" His voice became cold upon remembering what the clan had previously been turned into by the clan elders before he reformed it completely.

"Ah, I had heard the rumors some number of years ago, though such a thing no longer piques my interest." Was Natsu's bland reply. He may have not minded talking to his former grandfather in particular, but he knew this talk was heading in the direction of the clan.

Though he was mildly surprised that Igneel had contacted him, himself. He had expected Loke to first make contact upon the clan's orders, though Natsu would have swiftly hung up.

"[...I have heard from Meredy that you are now attending first high school.]"

Well, she probably told him that Mavis claimed to be his little sister, so he may as well get this over with. Igneel was bound to find out eventually, as the head of one of the most prominent clans in the country his resources were near endless.

"...You heard correctly...I decided to attend school alongside my little sister." Natsu spoke calmly. He could practically feel Igneel's eye widen upon his last statement.

"[...What do you mean by 'little sister'...?]"

"I mean exactly what I said...I know everyone of the Dragneel clan's darkest secrets remember? Secrets that would put those files that I left you on the clan heads to shame...My father really was a bastard you know that?"

Igneel was perhaps the one person in the clan who was able to keep calm in every situation. He fought in World War Three, led the Dragneel clan for generations, and had lived through the birth of modern magic. That was the only reason Natsu was willing to have a conversation like this. If the Dragneel clan was left to their own devices, then they would no doubt uncover some information, and draw the wrong conclusions upon them. This would actually save Natsu some of the trouble.

"[...I see...]"

"If you even think of touching a hair on her head, I will destroy everything you've worked so hard to rebuild...She is my angel, I've raised her since we were children...she is my world...if this world were to no longer exist, then I may as well destroy everyone else's while I'm at it."

Natsu made it quite clear that if harm were to befall Mavis, then the entire world would pay the price.

"[...I understand...we shall not harm her...or at least the clan itself won't...I cannot determine how my granddaughters will react. Your disappearance affected them greatly.]"

"...I am not too worried about them, but I needed to know that at least her father's side wouldn't be trying to dispose of her...anybody who does will be dealt with accordingly. I don't care if it is you that comes after us, old man, I will kill them all...I'd like you to keep that in mind in order to spare the lives of your clan members should they choose to disobey." Natsu told the man, making his point clear.

From the tone of his voice and how calmly he spoke those words, Igneel could tell that his grandson was not just making a threat that he couldn't back up. He had always known that Natsu was a bit special, knowing this he had determined that there was no way he would leave the protection of the clan without a way to guarantee his safety, and now that Igneel had heard it from the boy himself, his little sister.

Seeing that the boy's practical skills in magic had almost been non-existent, despite the fact that he came from the highly skilled magicians, Igneel had determined that his only grandson was most likely a born specialist. Born specialists were often times the most dangerous of magicians.

"[You have my word that the clan will not make a move on you're little sister.]"

"Good." Natsu knew that there was more that he wanted to say.

"[That being said, will you return to the clan?...We could provide the both of you with the clan's protection and accept the two of you with open arms.]"

And there it was. Natsu knew that the man was asking this not because it was for the clan's benefit, in fact accepting an illegitimate child into the clan would have some major political backlash. No, he was doing it because he missed his grandson and so did most of his family apparently.

While Natsu appreciated the gesture, he had to much of a history with the Dragneel clan to return to it. He wouldn't be able to forget all of the heartbreak, loneliness, self-hatred, and much worse that he was inflicted, both by the clan and from himself. He had moved on from his need for love and attention from his former family...he only desired it from Mavis now.

 _'Although the future may be filled with despair and death, I will never stop moving forward. The past is just that, the past, but no matter how much I try to forget or move on, it will always be with me. I will keep moving forward to create my own existence, with Mavis by my side. No matter what others may think or feel, I will still move forward as myself.'_

"...We both know that I was never really a part of that clan...there was a reason why I left all those years ago...I am Natsu Vermillion now, and that fact will not change."

"[...Natsu...the entire clan has been reformed, and not a trace of what it used to be is left. I won't have any of my fellow clan members serving as nothing more than puppets for a greater scheme...perhaps you'll have the chance to have a real family now...]"

"Whether the clan is still the same or if it reformed, it does not matter to me...I made my decision a long time ago. I am living my own life now and have no desire to associate myself with the Dragneel clan...as far as I am concerned, Natsu Dragneel never existed."

"[...Are you sure about this...?]"

"This is who I am, and I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

With those final words Natsu hung up the phone, not waiting to hear his response. As far as he was concerned, all that needed to be said was said.

He quickly finished up his glass of wine before wandering to the bedroom. It seemed that the events from the day were catching up with him as he was feeling both the physical and mental exhaustion. Normally he would have been able to go on for days without feeling tired or needing any kind of rest, but just for today he would give into this feeling.

Natsu smiled as he entered the bedroom and was greeted with the sight of Mavis sprawled out on the king-sized bed, covered by nothing but a thin blanket. Though she would never catch a cold from the lack of warmth, as Natsu's arms were enough to keep her comfortable.

He looked on at her with love and adoration shining in his eyes. Perhaps a little too much for a brother to be feeling, not that he was aware of that.

Her sleepwear only accentuated her beauty. She was wearing lacey, black-colored lingerie that revealed quite a bit of skin. Actually, that was an understatement, her lingerie only covered her upper body and upper thighs and even that was see through. He thanked Kami that the most important parts were still covered or even he wouldn't have been able to control himself.

Though it wasn't doing much to hide her figure. Her slim, slender figure that was just perfect for her. She was thin, but perfectly fit from all the training he put her through. Her slim arms and legs that were perfectly smooth, her breasts were right in the line between B and C-cups, her shapely rear end that was just perfect for her, and that gorgeous long, flowing hair that reached down to her waistline. She was truly a sight to behold.

He didn't know if she wore such a revealing piece of clothing to sleep to purposely arouse him or to tease him, but it was certainly working. He shook his head, trying to get such thoughts out of his mind. His eyes traced every inch of her body before finally landing on her face.

He chuckled slightly at the sleeping face of his beautiful princess. Her cute, soft snores quietly echoing throughout the room. Even while asleep she was absolutely divine, as if she were a being of a higher realm.

He slid into bed right next to her and took comfort now that she was in his arms.

She was his angel. Only an angel could have brought light into the darkness that was his world.

Yes, he had made the right choice when he brought her into his care all those years ago.

* * *

 **Chapter End**

 **I actually really like how this chapter turned out. It may not be as long as the other chapters, but I enjoyed writing this fight scene.**

 **Some people left reviews asking if Natsu and Lisanna will make up, the answer is no. They have their past together and nothing will be changing that. She will only make a few appearances here and there, so don't worry about Lisanna bashing or anything like that. She will be mentioned in the storyline, but will not have a lot of major parts.**

 **Erza will be in the story a lot more now that she's been introduced.**


	4. Student Council

Chapter 4: Student Council

 _This author's note is in response to a review I have recently received. If you are not a fan of crossovers or anything related to such, do not read this story. I am not here to cater to your every need, feeling, or opinion; I am here to write a respectable story that people will enjoy. Make no mistake, I want all of my readers to enjoy what I write, but I hold no illusions that every person will agree with or enjoy reading my story._

 _Do not leave reviews saying that I better do this or better not do that or you'll stop reading my story. I appreciate people's opinion and will take them into consideration, but I cannot bring myself to care when the review that you leave is completely ignorant to the direction this story is going in or you hate this kind of story in general. In fact I laugh when you threaten to quit reading this story. Go ahead, quit, stop reading; I do NOT care. When you try to make a show of things and assert your opinion so aggressively it feels like you are trying to force this story into what you want it to be._

 _This is somewhat a crossover fic. I did not label it as such because I am not using any of the characters of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei. The amount of elemental-based magic shown in Fairy Tail is almost always limited to slayer-type magic, that is why I had gone to other manga for reference in the fight scene last chapter. That will not always be the case, but there will be techniques eery now and then that are neither from Fairy Tail or Mahouka. If you are not a fan of that, there's the door._

 _This little 'rant' was because of a review left by a reader who clearly stated that he/she hated crossover-type stories and never usually gives them a chance. They clearly stated that they have no experience or familiarity in crossover-type stories and yet they came off as being experts on how to write crossover elements into a story. Now while this particular person wasn't too rude about it, the review left a bad taste in my mouth. I completely understand where this person was coming from, but it really pissed me off that this person was claiming that I would "ruin" my story by going the direction that I'm going in._

 _I get that people have their own opinions, but if you really have no idea what you're talking about and are already not a fan of this type of story, there is no shame in dropping this story and heading to a story that is more suited to your needs and desires._

* * *

I own neither Fairy Tail nor Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.

* * *

 **Modern Age: Student Council**

Natsu and Mavis slowly made their way out of the station and were going to start their journey to First High School before they heard a familiar voice call out to them, well one of them in particular.

As the sign 'First High School' obviously stated, this train station was a mandatory stop for all those who had the most prestigious of the nine magic high schools as their destination.

There was really only one path from the station to the high school, so many students could be seen walking in separate groups towards their destination. Even now the groups were clearly divided between Blooms and Weeds.

It was still quite early, so there were only a few handfuls of students on this path so early. Most of them were Blooms, it appeared that the second course students had already been discouraged from arriving early because they were nothing more than reserves. Those Weeds who were already on their way to class were trailing far behind the Blooms, as to not aggravate them or bring even more discrimination upon themselves.

If one made the comparison, it was not so much different from the treatment that had caused the Civil Rights Era in America well over a century ago. It seemed that history always had a way of repeating itself, however now discrimination wasn't based on the color of your skin or your race, but based on the ability you were born with.

"Natsu-kun~~" Any normal person would have been embarrassed at how his name had been called, but Natsu was by no means normal in any sense of the word.

Natsu and Mavis turned around and were greeted with the rapidly approaching form of Ultear Milkovich, with Gray and Wendy not far behind.

It was curious to find these three walking to school together. Not so much Gray and Wendy, but for all three of them to be together was a bit unusual. Natsu quickly dismissed it as Gray and Ultear being siblings, and them meeting Wendy as they arrived inside the station.

"Natsu-kun, good morning. And Mavis as well, good morning."

Natsu raised an eyebrow at how she addressed them. It seemed that her main focus was him rather than Mavis, which was quite odd. Ultear was the Student Council President, and should therefore be trying to get Mavis to somehow join the Student Council.

Now that he thought about it, this woman had always over friendly and quite personable towards him ever since they met. Why was that?

"Good morning, Ultear-senpai."

Just after Natsu's greeting to the President, Mavis bowed respectfully as her way of greeting the woman. It was clear that she was interested in talking with her Onii-sama, so she chose to remain a step behind him. It irritated Mavis to no end that a woman was already interested in her Onii-sama, but she would endure it for now as she didn't want to make him upset with her.

Ultear had been walking quite fast as soon as she saw that Natsu and Mavis were right in front of them, thus leaving Wendy and Gray in the dust as they leisurely walked after her while enjoying their own conversation. It was only now that they were arriving onto the scene.

"Yo." Gray said casually waved hand. He had always been laid back so expecting any more from him just wasn't worth the time.

"Good morning Natsu-san, Mavis-chan." Wendy gave a small bow as she greeted them politely, the polar opposite of Gray.

Natsu rubbed the blue-haired girl's hair affectionately, causing her face to take on a light shade of red and earning glares from both Mavis and Ultear. He didn't know why, but something about just seeing the girl made him want to pamper her, she was just too cute. He chalked it up to his brotherly instincts taking over.

"Mind if I join you on your way to school today, Natsu-kun?" Ultear asked with a tilt of her head. "I would also like to speak to Mavis about a few things as well if that is quite alright."

This didn't surprise either of them, so they didn't really have a problem with it. It was a tradition for the freshmen representative to join the Student Council as a way for the freshmen to have a representative for their class regarding important decisions that the Student Council makes. Since the Student Council is only made up of second and third years at the moment, they would need to select a first year as soon as possible in order to maintain the balance for this year and the years to come.

"Hm, I don't mind in the least." Natsu commented as the girl moved to his side.

"Well, then I'll be in your care for now." She added with a wink.

Gray and Wendy were mildly surprised at how Natsu was interacting with Ultear. It was as if they were already acquainted and had known each other for years. If one had been watching closely it wouldn't seem like two people who had only met two or three times before.

Gray couldn't believe how his older sister was acting now, it was as if she were some normal schoolgirl. He always had to deal with that evil, sadistic, devil-woman, but she would act all sweet and innocent for Natsu? Life just wasn't fair sometimes.

Though he couldn't help but wonder why Ultear was so interested in his new friend, she'd never shown interest in a single guy before so why now? He couldn't tell at the moment if she had some sort of crush on the guy or if it was just pure childish curiosity and wonder, either way, it would be better for him to stay the hell away from it.

"How are the two of you enjoying high school so far?" Ultear asked from beside Natsu.

The formation of the group walking to school were as follows. Natsu was walking in the middle of the path with Mavis and Ultear on either side of him, while Gray and Wendy stood a step back from Natsu and Ultear, as to let them enjoy their conversation without them interrupting. They had already realized that Ultear wanted to talk with Mavis about the Student Council, but she also wanted to enjoy the company of Natsu on the way to campus.

"Hm, well I haven't really seen very much of it." Natsu stated honestly. "I was there for the orientation ceremony and for the first half of the second day, but I had some business to attend to after lunch, so I wasn't able to get a look at the specialized classes. My apologies, I had been looking forward to see your demonstration at the shooting range."

This earned Ultear's curiosity as well as a small smile to form on her face at the thought of him looking forward to see her practical session.

"Perhaps you'll get to see me in action one of these days then."

"Though I don't know how well I'll do in class...I haven't attended a school since my latter years of elementary school." Natsu admitted to the woman, it would be best to satisfy some of her curiosity now, though he couldn't say he disliked her company.

"Oh, that's quite rare, to go to elementary school but not middle school. Most parents usually send their children to middle school to start their education in magic or train them personally if they belong to a clan." Ultear commented as she placed a finger to her chin.

Natsu wouldn't tell the whole story about his and Mavis's past, but if nobody knew anything about it, it would look quite suspicious. He definitely wouldn't tell her about Layla, to this day that memory still brings a pain to his chest. It's funny, he could be crushed by a giant black hole, sit through days of torture, have most of his skin melted off, but it was the memory of Layla's death that caused him more pain and tears than anything.

"It's just the two of us." Natsu spoke, earning the curiosity of all those walking with them. "I practically raised Mavis myself. She was able to attend middle school to kickstart her magic education, but I needed to work to support the two of us."

The eyes of the three students, who hadn't previously known the history of Natsu and Mavis, widened considerably after hearing a piece of their history. For a teenager to be able to raise his own sister was practically unheard of in this day and age. Most people who don't have parents are usually kept in orphanages and then raised by the military once they become teenagers in hopes of them becoming fine magicians or soldiers.

Well that did explain to them why she always referred to him as 'Onii-sama' instead of a more casual way. It also made the respect that each of the three had for the teen rise even higher, they certainly wouldn't have been able to do the same if they were in his shoes. They lived in a cruel and harsh world where only the strong and resourceful are able to survive. It must have been rough for the two of them growing up.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything by my earlier comment." Ultear threw out franticly as she waved both her arms in front of her face.

Natsu had a confused expression on his face for a minute before grasping onto what she was referring to. "Oh, I wasn't trying to earn pity or make you feel bad or anything like that. I was just trying to explain why I never went to middle school but how I'm attending high school, so try and calm down a little...And didn't you have something you had wanted to discuss with Mavis?"

After listening to his words, she did calm down from the fluster she had put herself in and composed herself to how the Student Council President should be acting. It seemed that she had already gone into her President mode.

"Is the subject you wish to speak about related to the Student Council, Senpai?" Mavis inquired, finally speaking up.

"Hm, I meant to find an opportunity to speak with you in detail. The walk from the station to school isn't really enough time...Do you have any plans during lunch break?" Ultear questioned whilst remaining polite.

"I plan on eating in the cafeteria."

"With Natsu-kun?"

"Yes...although other first course students will probably try to make a scene again."

At the sight of Mavis lowering her head and giving a deep sigh, Ultear nodded in understanding. It seemed that new students always had to make a big deal about the difference between Course 1 and Course 2 during the first few days of the semester.

"There are quite a lot of students who care about these little things." Ultear sighed in defeat, she just didn't understand why the first course students always felt the need to flaunt their superiority or antagonize the second course students. "In that case, why not join me in the Student Council Room for lunch? If you don't mind bentos, the room has an automatic meal dispenser."

"...The Student Council Room is equipped with the Dinner Server Module?" Mavis couldn't conceal her amazement as she replied.

The Dinner Server Module was a meal dispenser that prepared single-serving meals in a matter of moments. Something like this could usually be found in airline terminals or long-distance trains. What was something like that doing in the Student Council room of a high school?

"Before entering the Student Council Room, I didn't want to talk too much about it. But it's for students working late into the day." An embarrassed Ultear smiled sheepishly. "Often times Student Council members have to stay far later than even those participating in clubs and have to remain on campus for dinner, especially during club week, preparing for the Nine Schools Competition, and the Thesis Competition. Though we use it for lunch as well."

That was a reasonable explanation. As one of the nine magic high schools, the Student Council members help run the school and no doubt have a lot of work to complete. Self-determination became a major theme in society ever since the Crying Heavens Incident in 2092, therefore even magic high schools would put an emphasis on self-governing.

"If it's the Student Council Room, it's not a problem if Natsu-kun tags along as well. In fact, I would rather enjoy his company." For some reason a shiver went down Natsu's spine. Whatever this woman wanted with him, it would definitely cause him quite a bit of headaches down the road. "Gray and Wendy may join us as well if they like."

At that moment, Ultear's smiling face became teasing, and to put it bluntly, mischievous. Hopefully that was a mistake on Natsu's part.

Even if it was a misinterpretation, that particular way of putting it still gave him a headache.

"Even though it is such a rare opportunity, I think we'll pass." Gray commented as Wendy nodded as well. "It'd be best for Wendy and I not to meddle in the Student Council's affairs since we're not directly involved."

Gray may have said it politely and given a reasonable excuse, but in reality he just didn't want to be in the same room with Ultear any more than he had to. Was he chickening out? Yes, and he wasn't afraid to admit it. He still had nightmares of what she had done to him when they were younger, she was a wicked little thing.

Natsu seemed to give him a glare that yelled 'you traitor!' but he looked the other way, pretending not to notice it.

"Is that so...? Well that's too bad." Ultear's smile did not diminish in the slightest as she continued to speak. She had probably been expecting them to decline her offer anyways. "In that case it's just the two of you then."

Refusing was still a valid option at this point, but following the response from Gray, there was simply no way to smoothly decline.

"...I understand. Mavis and I will be intruding on you then."

"Excellent. The details can wait until later. I will call for the two of you during the lunch break."

For some reason, Ultear was very pleased by this response.

* * *

Lunch break arrived quickly.

Natsu and Mavis had already climbed up several flights of stairs and were standing in front of their destination at the end of the hallway on the fourth floor, the Student Council Room.

From the outside, all the rooms in this hallway were the same. Though this one in particular did have a few modifications, such as the wooden engraving embedded in the door, the speaker on the wall, and the cleverly disguised safety devices. The sign of the door clearly displayed the words 'Student Council Room'.

True to her word, as soon as lunch break arrived both Mavis and Natsu had received a notice to come to the Student Council Room via email on their terminals.

Natsu really wished that Gray and Wendy had accepted Ultear's invitation, this would no doubt be a long lunch period. The current Student Council was comprised of one third year student and three second year students. They would most likely request more first year students, other than Mavis, to come to the room as well today in order to balance out the distribution of students in the Student Council for the upcoming years.

There would probably be a familiar face or two in there as well, Natsu's cursed luck would make certain of that. To put it bluntly, this would turn out to be quite the pain in the ass.

"Well...here we are...might as well get it over with." Natsu groaned as he motioned for Mavis to announce their arrival through the speaker.

"Onii-sama, you should be more excited. It isn't everyday that someone is requested to come to the Student Council Room...besides, I would expect you to be happy that the President has taken such an interest in you." Mavis replied, a look of jealousy present on her face.

"You're one to talk, you've been summoned to the Student Council Room on your first day of school ever since you started middle school to request you to become a member...and Ultear-senpai probably only spent so much time with me before the orientation ceremony because I was your brother."

"Hm, it seemed as if you were quite well acquainted to me. And she seemed quite eager to get friendly with you this morning." Mavis pouted adorably.

Mavis had always been the jealous type. How could she not be, her Onii-sama was always surrounded by beautiful woman. First it was Hisui-hime, Kamika from the Garou Knights, then Minerva, and now Ultear and Wendy. Why did they always have to take an interest in her Onii-sama of all people?

"Stop worrying so much Mavis. Nobody's going to take me away from you, I won't let that happen. I promise." Natsu affectionately rubbed her head to calm the girl down.

That seemed to do the trick as Mavis began to purr softly as his hands stroked her long, wavy locks. Her prior irritation forgotten as she brought herself closer into Natsu's touch. She looked up at his soft smile just as he gave her a nod, reminding her of why they came here in the first place.

Seeing as how the invitation was for Mavis specifically, she was the one who solemnly requested entry through the speaker, from the opposite end came a rather cheerful welcome.

From the inside, the lock that had been keeping them from entering opened with a simple command from a terminal. Natsu gripped the door knob and opened the door. They had always done it like this when they were together. Natsu was quite overprotective of his little sister, and therefore would deal with anything that would endanger Mavis accordingly.

Of course nothing ever happened, it was merely something that he had grown accustomed to doing with Hisui, and growing up in a war-zone certainly didn't help with his overprotective nature.

"Welcome. Don't mind us, please come in Nastu-kun, Mavis." Ultear's voice resounded directly in front of the from the opposite end of the table.

Mavis led the way into the room, followed by Natsu. Mavis stopped only two steps into the room with Natsu only one step behind her.

With both hands one over the other placed near waist, Mavis bowed in greeting, a textbook example of formality.

Natsu didn't even bother with attempting such formality. They may have been siblings, but their movement and speech patterns couldn't have been more different. Mavis was raised for eight years by her mother, and she was a woman who had formerly been a member of the Heartfilia family. One wouldn't be able to survive in a family like that without being a perfect aristocrat. The rest of Mavis's mannerisms she was taught by Natsu who raised her for her other eight years of life, who had groomed her into what she was today.

Natsu only acted formal when doing intelligence work or when he was acting as a spy. He had picked them up from years of working as a bounty hunter, you wouldn't be able to find you targets by merely asking around, you needed to blend in and fit the part of that community. He wasn't even formal with the Princess or Emperor of Japan, evidence of this was Natsu's pet name for Hisui, 'Hime-chan'.

"Eh...no need to be so formal Mavis...though Natsu-kun, I couldn't imagine you ever acting formal."

All members that were at the table seemed to be a bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere that Mavis exuded. Even Ultear seemed to shrink a little, but she recovered quickly and turned it into a bit of teasing to Natsu.

"Why don't the two of you take a seat. We were only waiting on you two as everyone else arrived a few moments ago. We can talk while we eat." Ultear offered with a smile while motioning to the empty seats.

She was most likely referring to the long table in the meeting room. At this moment, the signal reached the table interior, rearranging the table to be appropriate for dining.

Natsu had been right in his assumptions that the Student Council would call a few more people to fill the positions that were empty, as well as the ones that would be empty in the future.

There were currently two other freshmen in the room, and both were staring at Natsu quite intently.

Neither Yukino or Meredy had been expecting Natsu to be invited here for lunch, not that they minded. They had assumed that Mavis would be present, as it would only be natural for the freshmen representative to be on the Council, and they knew that the two of them were quite close but they had assumed he would be dining with the rest of the course 2 students. It was a pleasant surprise.

That isn't to say that they were the only ones in the room who were staring longingly at the pink-haired boy, Mirajane Strauss, a second year member of the Student Council, also had their eyes glued onto his form. Ever since his disappearance four years ago, he had not made contact with a single person whom he had previously been acquainted with. This only made most of them develop some kind of obsession with finding him and bringing him back into their lives.

There were only two people in the room that hadn't known Natsu from before high school, so they were looking around the room with a confused expression as they saw the eyes of the first years and Mirajane drift to him. The first was obviously Ultear. The second was a second year student, probably the secretary Chelia Blendy, who was quickly looking back and forth between Mirajane and the first years questioningly.

Seemingly ignoring all the stares he was getting, Natsu led Mavis to the expensive looking table and took the last two remaining seats. Mavis slid the chair out right next to Yukino and sat down. Natsu chose the seat just above hers that was next to the end of the table, and Ultear.

Ultear noticed that most eyes in the room were on Natsu, which she found odd. If anything, she thought that they would be in awe at Mavis's appearance but their eyes had been fixed on the pink-haired teen ever since they got over the shock of her entrance. For some reason, it made her a bit irritated to see so many females have their eyes on him.

Though she did note that Natsu and Meredy did share a bit of a resemblance with each other, especially with that particular shade of hair and facial structure.

Though Natsu didn't pay any of these women any mind at the moment, it would be far too much of a pain to deal with their curiosity here. Though he did feel a bit out of place seeing as how he was the only male in the room. If one were to look on from the outside, they would refer to it as a harem.

"Well, why don't we start off with our lunch selections. Meat, fish, or vegetarian. Which do you prefer?" Ultear asked as she handed the terminal that was connected to the Dinner Server Module to Natsu.

What was amazing was not just the Dinner Server Module itself, but the complex selections that were made available as well.

Natsu picked meat, obviously, and Mavis selected the vegetarian option. After receiving the orders for everyone in the room, Mirajane activated the large cabinet-like machine tucked near the wall.

Now all that remained was to wait until the automatic meal dispenser completed their orders.

Ultear was seated in the main chair, to her side and directly opposite of Natsu was Mirajane, whom was currently out of her seat and getting everything prepared for their lunch. One seat over was the Public Moral Committee Chief, whom they had seen yesterday. Next to her was Chelia. Across from Chelia was Meredy, whom was also still glancing longingly at Natsu and next to her was Yukino.

After Mirajane returned to the table and distributed the beverages, Ultear began speaking. "The members of the Student Council were introduced at the enrollment ceremony, but to refresh your memory I'll introduce them again, after which the first year students should introduce themselves to get acquainted with each other. Sitting to my side is our treasurer, Mirajane Strauss, also known as Mira-chan."

"The only one who really calls me by that name are the Student Council members, but you all can do they same. Natsu, you can call me by what you used to if you like." Mirajane spoke with a smile.

Mirajane was a slim woman of below average height. She had long, white hair that curled slightly at the ends with two bangs framing her face and reaching down to her chest, she also wore the bangs that would be covering her forehead in a short upward ponytail. She possessed a pair of large, deep blue eyes and had a curvy, voluptuous figure with very well-endowed breasts. Mirajane would have done full justice to the description of 'beauty'.

It must be admitted that Mira-chan fit her quite well.

Ultear tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "Hm, Natsu-kun? Do you and Mira-chan know each other?"

"We've had a few prior encounters." Natsu spoke cooly, not very interested in reminiscing at the moment.

"Well, moving on. The woman sitting next to her is the Chair of the Public Moral Committee, Erza Scarlet."

"Though I'm not a member of the Council. The Pubic Moral Committee is entirely separate from the Student Council." Erza interjected neutrally.

"And following that is our secretary Chelia Blendy, also known as A-chan."

Chelia is a petite young girl with sapphire blue eyes and amaranth colored hair that was tied up into two short pigtails with orange bows. She looked rather young and could be described as rather innocent and childlike. While she was the most petite member of the Student Council, she still had a rather ample bust. Her uniform was heavily modified, but it still met up with school regulation. She wore a short, white miniskirt with the usual sleeveless white top and tie, but her short green jacket was missing the veil. She also adorned lnog, black stockings and a pair of black shoes with pink laces.

"President...Please don't call me 'A-chan' in front of the underclassmen! I have my position to think of too!"

Because of how petite she was and possessed a more childlike face, when Chelia directed a teary-eyed expression upwards, she unintentionally gave off the impression of a child about to cry. That would probably be the reason she is called 'A-chan'.

She probably received that nickname because her name ended in the letter 'A'. As to why she received that particular pet-name instead of something that resembled her name a bit more, Natsu didn't bother to ask.

"The Vice President in Lyon Milkovich, and one of my younger brothers, is currently at the club rooms so he will not be joining us today. Oh and I'm Ultear Milkovich and that makes up all the members of the Student Council Committee."

Natsu forgot that their was another sibling of the Milkovich clan attending First High School. He was introduced at the opening ceremony, but Natsu had not had a run in with the man since. Now that he thought about it, this Lyon wasn't walking to school with Ultear and Gray this morning either. If he was involved in club activities then he may have had to arrive much earlier, though.

"Hello, its good to see you all again, for most of you this isn't our first meeting. I'm Meredy Dragneel from Class 1A." Meredy smiled brightly and gave a small wave, though the phrase 'see you all' was most likely directed at her wayward brother.

This interested Natsu mildly, it was as if her personality did a complete one-eighty since he last spoke to her. She seems a lot more cheerful and happier. For some reason, seeing her like this made him smile inwardly.

"I am Yukino Strauss, first year class 1A, it is a pleasure to meet all of you. And for those whom I have already had the pleasure of meeting, it is good to see you once more." Yukino greeted everyone politely.

 _'...Yukino...'_ Natsu though inwardly. She and Mira had been the only two people that he had really missed. He wished that Yukino had accepted his offer to move away with them to Magnolia, but sadly she wanted to give her family a second chance. He had already seen first hand how that turned out.

"I haven't had the pleasure of meeting most of the students here yet, my name is Mavis Vermillion. I am the freshmen representative of class 1A and I look forward to working with each of you this year." As expected, Mavis's introduction was flawless. Truly befitting of someone raised by Layla Heartfilia and Natsu Vermillion.

"Most of you are familiar with me, though I suppose I'll introduce myself anyways. I'm Natsu Vermillion of class 1E."

Most in the room, namely Yukino, Meredy, and Mirajane were surprised by his introduction. They hadn't expected him to denounce his surname, let alone have the same one as the freshmen representative.

Everyone in the room was a Course 1 student besides Natsu. Ultear was a third year, Mirajane, Chelia, and Erza were second years, and the rest of the girls were first years. With such an imbalance of students from different years, it was only natural that they would recruit several first year students to fill the positions that would become available this year, next year, and the year after.

Such was the tough life of a self-governing magic high school.

Just as the final introduction was given, the cover of the Dinner Server opened, presenting neat and proper meals with a variety of different selections on seven separate trays.

For the amount of people present in the room, it appeared that they were short one. At least those were the common thoughts of the first year girls before Erza quietly took out her own bento box that she had prepared.

Seeing Mira stand up, Chelia also left the table. As its name implied, the Dinner Server Module was only capable of producing the selected meals, but without a matching table set, it was more efficient to manually bring the trays over.

With skillful maneuvering and handiwork, the two elder women brought all the trays to the table and placed the correct order in front of the student whom ordered it. They would have made great waitresses for professional restaurants.

Natsu's selection contained a large portion of spicy grilled chicken, several pork dumplings, several pieces of spinach-packed omelette, vegetables, and a hefty serving of white rice. The Dinner Server served single-portion bentos, but Natsu had purposefully selected the largest serving meat option it had. It was hard to satisfy his monstrous appetite.

Mavis's selection on the other hand contained a portion of tofu glazed in a teriyaki sauce, several pieces of sushi with cucumber, carrots, and avocado in it, pickled vegetables, and a single serving of brown rice. Her appetite could never even compare to Natsu's, therefore she chose one of the smaller and lighter selections.

As the students at the table began to eat their meals, the conversation was left completely open. The main topic of why they had been called to the Student Council Room would be left until after everyone had finished their meals, as it would require their full attention. So the topic that they would discuss over their food, as too not leave any awkward silences was up to the first years to decide.

The first year girls only had a limited number of conversational topics that coincided with the committee members, and Natsu flat out just didn't care. He was content with just being at Mavis's side, so the conversation naturally drifted towards the topic of food.

"Did you make that bento yourself, Scarlet-senpai?" Mavis's intention was to simply initiate a conversation with everyone else, and did not hide any other reason.

"Yes, I may not look it, but I am a fairly good cook. Does that surprise you?"

Erza merely nodded and retaliated with a teasing question of her own that was difficult to answer politely. In reality, Erza did not mean to torment Mavis, but wanted to see her sensible and polite underclassman in a fluster of her own instead of her doing so to another. It was somewhat of a try at payback for her earlier introduction when she walked into the room, as even Erza was slightly overwhelmed.

"No, not really." Natsu replied for Mavis as he stared at Erza's hands, it was clear that his sister didn't know how respond appropriately. "Whether you cook normally or not...I can tell easily with a simple glance at your hands."

Whether he meant to or not, it was most likely the latter, he gave off an impression that he could see through everything, causing Erza to quickly move her hands beneath the table and feel quite embarrassed.

"Onii-sama! How about we start bringing out own bentos starting tomorrow?" Mavis asked excitedly as if nothing had happened, causing Natsu to shift his line of sight from Erza onto her.

"You're bentos are delicious Mavis, but as for where the two of us should eat them..."

"Oh, yes...first we need to find a place to eat them without being disturbed..."

The siblings' dialogue - not just the contents, but the atmosphere itself - seemed a little too intimate for a pair of blood-related teenagers.

"You sound more like a pair lovers than siblings." Erza commented with a sly smile, trying to hide her amusement.

A few of the occupants at the table turned to the redhead in shock, both for dropping such an explosive comment and for implying that the two of them were siblings.

"Do we really...? I suppose we do." Natsu commented, faking surprise at her comment. He knew exactly how close he and Mavis were and the lines between siblings and lovers had blurred a long time ago. "I would like to be lovers...if not for the fact that we were related."

And just like that, Natsu detonated the explosives that Erza had planted earlier.

Large blushes spread across the faces of most of the girls at the table, even the normally stoic Erza was sporting a hint of red on her cheeks. Though most notable were Mavis, Ultear, and Mirajane, while Meredy stared on in pure shock at what they heard. Actually Ultear's face may have turned red in anger rather than embarrassment.

 _'W-What does he mean they're related?! He's my twin brother and nobody else's!"_ Were the envious thoughts of Meredy.

Erza gave up any hope of trying to tease these siblings as she saw the look of pure hope and excitement that should not have been present on Mavis's face after her brother made that comment.

"Or perhaps it is because we're siblings that makes it even more right for us to be together...Doesn't it make our love that much more pure, doesn't that make it so that we will never leave each other...? It just means that we were made for each other." Natsu continued, bringing the level of awkwardness and embarrassment to a entirely new level.

"Onii-sama..." Mavis whined in embarrassment, her face matching the color of Erza's hair as she looked up at him, love and adoration shining in her eyes.

"That was a joke, of course...at least for now." Natsu whispered that last part to himself.

He turned to the Jane, which was Natsu's pet name for Mirajane when they were younger, and amused himself with the sight of her red-faced and utterly shocked expression. She had always prided herself in being an expert matchmaker, so she had been off in her own dreamland after hearing Natsu speak so passionately. Though, she was brought back to reality when he admitted that he was joking.

Nobody spoke so passionately for a mere joke, she would be looking into this at another time. If there was one thing she couldn't pass up, it was a possibility of bringing two people in love together. Of course, she hadn't missed the jealous expression on Ultear's face. Oh, this would be so much fun!

"Hm...?" Natsu then looked over at his little sister and raised an eyebrow at her embarrassed, yet disappointed, expression.

"No, n-nothing..." Mavis brought her hands out in front of her face to try to cover her flustered expression, sometimes she thought that her Onii-sama tried to get her so worked up on purpose. He was such a tease to her.

The majority of the table was left speechless at the scene that was playing out before them.

They had finished their meals quite a while ago, so Ultear coughed into her hand to gain the attention of everyone at the table.

"Ok, let's end this subject here. Erza, I know it's tough to swallow, but Natsu-kun is just a difficult person to handle."

Maybe it was because she foresaw that this conversation could go on perpetually and was getting a bit awkward for everyone here, Ultear intervened with a slightly bitter smile.

"Now then, shall we get down to business?" Ultear asked rhetorically. "The school has given great authority to the Student Council to govern the students within the school. The student Council President is traditionally the one in charge. Once elected, the Student Council President will select the officers. Even the other committee chairmen, save for one, are under the authority of the President."

"The exception is my Moral Committee. The Student Council, the Club Management Group, and the Faculty Council each choose three people to be a part of the Moral Committee, making a total of nine members. These elected members appoint the chairman." Erza spoke as it was the committee that she was in charge of.

Ultear picked up where she left off. "Basically, both Erza and I hold the same level of authority. Under the school rules, the President has a term period, but others do not. The term lasts from October 1 to September 30 of next year. Between this time, the President has the right of appointment and removal of all officers."

"There is an annual tradition to invite the first year representative to the Student Council, with the intent of training them to be the successor. Hopefully, the first year representative will be elected to be the next Student Council President. Although this is not a guarantee, it has been the case for the past five years."

Ultear took a breath before continuing her speech. "However, due to the increasing work load of magic high schools for the Student Councils over the past three years and the fact that we only have two members of the current Council who will remain for the next two years, as Lyon is being groomed for the position of the next Club Management Group Leader, we felt the need to invite several new members this year. Last year, the Council was comprised of mostly third year students, so it would only be natural to want to replenish our ranks."

"What I am trying to say is, as the Student Council President, I would like to offer Mavis-chan, Yukino-san, and Meredy-san a position on the Student Council." Ultear finished finally.

Mavis looked up at Natsu with worry present in her eyes. If she joined the Student Council then she wouldn't be able to spend as much time with her Onii-sama as she would like. The entire reason for him to be attending high school was that he could watch over her and spend time with her. He didn't need to attend a magic high school for his magic education, he was one of the Ten Wizard Saints and was amongst the strongest magicians in the world.

To her, it would be against going against everything that her Onii-sama had worked so hard for if she were to join the Council.

Erza seemed to notice the hesitation in Mavis's eyes and thought it best to intervene at this particular moment. "Though, we haven't forgotten about you either Natsu. I would like to personally invite you to join the Public Moral Committee."

This declaration surprised everyone in the room, save Ultear though she probably planned this from the beginning. Natsu was a Course 2 student, it was practically unheard of for anyone besides Course 1 students to be on the Student Council or a part of the Public Moral Committee.

"The roster for the Public Moral Committee still has one spot that hasn't been filled. This spot was originally supposed to go to a student that the Faculty Council selected, Lisanna Strauss, but unfortunately due to the events that she was involved in yesterday, I have deemed her unfit to hold such a position." Erza's stern, yet soothing voice resounded throughout the room. "I would like you to fill this spot Natsu."

Mira and Yukino looked a bit regretful at the mention of Lisanna's recommendation being withdrawn, she had been looking forward to being a member of the Public Moral Committee quite a bit. But attempting to use a high-powered spell against a fellow student was unacceptable, something like that would be placed on your permanent record and forever ban the person in question from ever entering the Student Council or the Public Moral Committee. And it had only been on the second day of school as well.

Completely opposite of Mira's and Yukino's expression, Mavis looked ecstatic at Erza's offer. If he accepted this position then they would be able to spend much more time together, as well as have prominent positions within the school. They would still be able to walk to school together, eat lunch together, and even walk home together. It was perfect.

The only person who didn't have much of a reaction to her offer was the actual person in question. He rose his eyebrow at her request, nothing more. Though he was actually quite curious as to why she wanted him to even be on the Committee that policed the school, especially in instances regarding the illegal use of magic. Normally only course 1 students are asked to join because their skill in magic would be quite important in a situation were to break out.

"May I inquire as to why you would select me as a member? Surely there are students who would suit the position rather than me...actually, last I heard was that only course 1 students were accepted into the Student Council and the Club Management Group, wouldn't a Course 2 student joining the Committee cause some problems for you, Senpai?" Natsu questioned with his arms crossed across his chest.

"Not at all. While there has never been one before, there are no regulations to disallow Course 2 students from joining the Public Morals Committee. As for why I personally selected you...you seemed more than capable of subduing a student in the process of casting a spell yesterday, but the main reason was because you interest me quite a bit. I know what you pulled yesterday, and I know you are more capable then you let on..." Erza responded with a small smirk.

"...I suppose I have no reason to decline..." Natsu let out with a sigh.

"I'll join the Student Council if Onii-sama is joining the Public Moral Committee!" Mavis cheered happily. She then pulled Natsu down by his collar and planted a loving and intimate kiss on his cheek, just far enough from his lips so people wouldn't make an uproar but close enough that she could let him feel all of her affection.

The room went from a talkative and curious atmosphere to dead silent in the blink of an eye. This was to be expected. When somebody, boy or girl, witnesses a person of Mavis's beauty kiss a boy, they would certainly be drawn to it.

The fact that it was her own brother only added to the appeal. It was as if she had no hesitation or modesty whatsoever.

There was an awkward silence that filled the air of the Student Council Room as Natsu and Mavis stared into each others' eyes, lovingly.

Surprisingly, it was Yukino who broke that silence. "I would also be honored to accept a position within the Student Council."

The other occupants of the room seemed thankful that someone finally spoke up, as the atmosphere was getting a little to romantic for most of them. Though most of them had never had a boyfriend before, so it was unclear as to whether or not they knew exactly what kind of atmosphere it was.

"I'll also accept a position on the Student Council, it seems like it'll be interesting." Meredy answered with a smile.

Ultear smiled a bit as she looked around the table at all of this year's new recruits, things had turned out better than she had thought. She had assumed that at least one of them would have turned down the invitation, but here they were.

"Well this turned out much better than expected. Unfortunately the lunch break should be ending soon, so we will have to pick this up at a later time. You can receive the details from A-chan then. Is everyone available after school?"

"As I said President...Please stop calling me A-chan..."

The current President received a nod of the head from all of the first years.

"Excellent, then why don't we meet back here after the final bell. I will brief you on each of your duties there and go into more detail about what the job entails." Completely ignoring the tearful protests on the side, Ultear finished up the conversation.

Just as those words were said, the bell rang, signaling that lunch had ended and that the students were to return to their respective classes for their afternoon lessons.

* * *

First Year Class E was currently in the middle of a practical lesson.

Though, there was no actual instructor present in the practical room, such is to be expected of a Course 2 lesson. The students were to follow the instructions that were displayed on the wall monitor.

While there was no instructor for this lesson, there was still an assignment to complete.

This lesson's assignment was to operate the standing model CAD to direct a flatbed car from one end of its track to the other, and then repeat the process three times. The purpose of this exercise was to accelerate the flatbed car to the middle of the track, then decelerate to the other end, accelerate from that end back towards the middle, and decelerate towards the starting point. This could be used to gauge the skill level amongst the students. Whether the flatbed car moved in a stable motion was enough to determine if the magician was skilled or not.

That would be the case for the first course students at least. This class was made up of those with practically no talent, therefore the scores weren't based on the times but rather on completion. This exercise was mainly to let the students become accustomed to the CAD, as it was presumed that these students have had little to no magic instruction in the past.

Natsu, Wendy, and Gray were currently waiting in one of the three separate lines for their chance to complete the assignment. They were amongst the few remaining students whom had yet to have their turn. Those who had already successfully completed the lesson had already returned to the main classroom, or were exploring the other rooms of the laboratory as it had a variety of equipment and practical uses that were only available during their class's time here.

"So what did Ultear-nee want with you and Mavis in the Student Council Room anyways." The three of them were currently engaged in a pleasant conversation while waiting in line.

"Oh nothing special really. She wanted to invite Mavis, along with two other first year girls to join the Student Council...oh and I was asked to join the Public Moral Committee." Natsu commented offhandedly.

"The Public Moral Committee!" Both Gray and Wendy yelled.

"Keep your voice down." Natsu reprimanded.

Though their surprise wasn't unfounded. It was unheard of for a Course 2 student to be chosen for a spot on the roster of the Public Moral Committee. It was the most prestigious committee on campus, alongside the Student Council and the Club Management Group.

Though him joining would most definitely cause an uproar, Erza's words from earlier didn't bring much comfort. The students referred to the Public Moral Committee members as the dogs of the school, since they policed the campus to enforce the rules and prevent any serious incidents from breaking out. The students were able to bear Blooms policing them because that was to be expected, but they would no doubt not take too kindly to having a Weed doing the same.

"My bad...it's just pretty shocking to hear you got invited to join the Public Moral Committee." Gray apologized sheepishly while rubbing the back of his head.

"Whoa! It's only the third day of school and Natsu-san already got asked to join one of the most prominent committees in the school. That's amazing." Wendy commented in awe. It seemed that she was easily starstruck by even the smallest of things.

Natsu sighed after looking at the girl's expression."I suppose it could prove to be interesting and a good way to kill some time. I would have to wait on campus anyway for Mavis to finish up her duties with the Student Council, this way at least we can walk home together."

"You got invited by the President? She really seems to have taken a liking to you..." Wendy mumbled that last bit. "Natsu-san, are you sure you only first met her before the entrance ceremony? She seems quite familiar with you..."

Natsu pondered her question for a few moments in his head. He had enough confidence in his memory to say that the day of the entrance ceremony was the first time he had met Ultear Milkovich. Though, just like Wendy had said, that approach did not seem like a first acquaintance.

"Actually I was invited by Erza Scarlet-senpai, the woman whom was the woman with Ultear-senpai yesterday and the Chair of the Public Moral Committee...though I do have to agree with you on that last part, Wendy...though maybe it's just because I'm Mavis's brother."

"...but didn't she mention you specifically?" Wendy asked with a tilt of her head. She was honestly curious as to why Ultear seemed to be so interested in Natsu.

Natsu sighed and simply shrugged his shoulders, relaying that he had no idea why Ultear was so familiar with him to the young woman.

Wendy's curiosity wasn't satisfied just yet, so she turned to Gray, after remembering that the President was his older sister.

"Don't look at me. I ain't got any idea why she's so fascinated with him. As far as I'm concerned, she's the devil, but whenever she sees him it's like she's some kind of saint. It kind of gives me the creeps seeing her like that." Gray spoke passionately as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Wendy could only sigh at the results of her investigation into this topic. However, this wasn't over, not even close. One way or another she would find out what that woman's intentions were.

"So what exactly does the Public Moral Committee do anyways. I can somewhat guess its job due to the name, but do you have any specifics yet, Natsu-san?"

Natsu looked over to the blue-haired girl with something of an appraising look. Wendy seemed to be growing bolder and more confident as the days went by, though she still retained most of her polite and quiet personality. She was literally growing up in the blink of an eye, it was quite the sight to behold. He wondered if she realized how much she had changed just since meeting them.

"From what I know, the primary duties of the Public Moral Committee are to identify those who use magic against school rules and to subjugate those that use it to cause a disturbance on campus. They basically handle all instances of the illegal use of magic, as well as conflicts without magic if necessary. They're something of the police and prosecutor on campus. Incidents like the one that occurred yesterday are generally dealt with by the Committee." Natsu informed the young girl of what he knew of the Committee.

"Doing conflict mediation? That's such a hassle." Gray interjected just as he returned from completing the assignment.

"But isn't it great to be scouted by the Student Council?" Wendy turned back from Gray to Natsu. "So are you going to accept the invitation Natsu-san?"

Natsu paused for a moment. It would most likely cause a lot of trouble in the future and give him quite a few headaches, but he had already made up him mind.

"Yeah, I am. High school would prove to be quite mundane without something like this to make things interesting. I really have no reason to decline...Oh, that reminds me." Natsu exclaimed, earning the attention of his two companions. "Gray, what is your brother like?"

Gray raised an eyebrow at the odd question. "Why are you interested in that bastard?"

"He's a member of the Student Council as well, but he wasn't there during lunch today. I assume he'll be there when we return after school, so I thought it best to ask you about him."

"Tch. He'll no doubt cause some problems this afternoon since you're a Course 2 student." Gray said as he closed his eyes. "He's a cocky bastard, looks down on everyone who's a Course 2 student. That's why he and I don't get along so well. He's pretty much like every other Bloom in the school. Arrogant, obnoxious, egotistical, the list is too long to tell you with what time we have left so I'll stop right there. He's a fairly strong mage, but I could easily take him if it came down to it. You shouldn't have a problem dealing wit him if it comes down to a physical confrontation."

"Sounds like he'll be a pain in the ass." Natsu commented.

It seemed that was there was for this conversation as it was now Wendy's turn.

"Wendy, it's your turn."

"Ah, sorry, sorry."

At Natsu's nudging, the slightly flustered Wendy took her position in front of the standing model CAD. She took a deep breath and channeled her psions into the CAD to start the activation and subsequent invocation sequence.

There was absolutely no light emitted from the activation of the magic, this denoted that she had excellent control over her abilities. Most of the time the activation sequence does not consume all of the psions and those leftover psions can be perceived in the form of light. Highly skilled magicians only leave behind small amounts of psion light. For Wendy to waste absolutely none of her magical power speaks volumes of her abilities, and only further supports the fact that she was indeed a prodigy.

After this year she would most likely be move up to the first course curriculum. She had only placed in Course 2 because it was unusual for someone so young to be accepted and they wanted her to get acclimated to the school and life as a student so as to not be overwhelmed or put under pressure by the fellow students for being a once in a generation prodigy.

The flatbed car in front of the CAD quickly shifted forward, then returned to its original position. This process occurred three times and each and every time, the time it took to activate the required magic and move the car from its starting point to the end and back was less than 0.350 seconds. This was an incredible time, even for course 1 students. Most Course 2 students were lucky to complete this exercise with a time of 0.950 seconds or a little below. She truly was amazing, her invocation speed would probably be on par with Mavis's in due time.

After completing the exercise, Wendy turned around and smiled brightly at her two friends. She moved towards them just as Natsu moved up to take his position in front of the standing model CAD. He already knew what the result would be if he were to do this exercise with his actual ability, so he cheated.

Natsu reached out with his gloved hand and placed it on the transparent touchpad and began manipulating the psion flow. Or to be more accurate, his glove did. While Natsu's own psions and magical power were overwhelmingly powerful, his magic calculation area was completely dominant in his two superpowers. And like most superpowers, he was almost completely unable to cast generic magic such as what was required to complete this exercise.

As stated before, the glove on his right hand is enhanced with engraving magic on the inside. This allows magical power and psions to be stored within it and transferred to any calculation area and activate any spell that the user desires. However, this is limited to generic magic and based upon the user's individual skill level.

The only other magic that Natsu was able to use efficiently was [Counter Magic]. This was due to the fact that most of those particular spells rely on the psion particles themselves, instead of using them to activate another branch of magic.

That isn't to say that Natsu was inept with other forms of magic. With his skill in magic engineering he found a way to cover his handicap.

If he had attempted to complete this exercise without any enhancements the result would most definitely turn out to be zero. Not because the speed of the activation would be instantaneous, but because the magic would not activate at all.

Just like Wendy, the flatbed car shifted forward, albeit at a much slower pace, then returned to its original position. This process occurred three time, with each of the times ranging from 0.925 to 0.815 seconds. It was a time that was at the level of most of the Course 2 students, if not a little faster. The fact that Natsu was able to go from absolutely zero skill in this area to above that of a Course 2 student just by putting on a glove, was truly an amazing feat.

A normal born specialist magician would probably envy the other students for being able to activate their magic with ease. Natsu was not one of them, primarily because he was a superpower not a born specialist. He could activate his two superpowers instantaneously, had it been him against a generic magician, he would have wiped their existence of of this plane before they even had a chance to reach for their CAD.

The amount of generic magicians that he had either killed or defeated was another reason why he would never feel inferior to the vast majority of the population. He would rather keep his abilities to control lightning, earthquakes, tornadoes, tsunamis, and such than swap them out for some run-of-the-mill spells. He could accomplish feats that blurred the lines between fantasy and reality.

He was well aware of his own abilities, that is why he couldn't care any less if he was constantly reminded of his own failures.

* * *

The final bell had rung five minutes ago and true to their promise, Natsu and Mavis were once again making their way towards the Student Council Room.

It should be noted that Mavis was walking far too close to Natsu than a normal sibling should, some might even say that she was clinging off his arm as they walked through the halls. This had been a source of quite a few glares filled with jealousy, envy, and hatred that had been sent his way. Though, he he easily ignored the presence of the other students, they did not matter after all.

There were no words spoken between the two as they finally arrived at their destination, they were merely content with being in each other's presence.

Though Natsu could easily tell that Mavis had been restraining herself. Sometimes it was hard for her to act like a polite and proper lady should, her personality was childish and energetic by nature and it was hard to reign in sometimes. She probably wanted to grab him by the arm and run down down the halls or ignore her duties here and drag him to the nearest cake shop.

Due to the fact that their ID Cards were already registered in the certification system, Mavis pulled hers out and was granted access. They had already accepted their positions on the Student Council and Public Moral Committee respectively, therefore both of them were allowed access to the Student Council Office at any time they pleased. With that done, the two siblings entered the room.

"We're coming in!" Mavis spoke cheerfully as she was already waltzing into the room.

As soon as Natsu entered, he was greeted with a hostile and venomous glare from the table that they had eaten lunch at, however it was in its appearance for work rather than dining.

The source of the glare was a slim young man of average height with a slim and unremarkable build. He had bluish silver hair, most of which were spiky strands that jut upwards on top of his head, except for some which are kept pointing down and partially covering the upper left part of his face. His eyes were slanted with dark round pupils, above them were a set of small, linear eyebrows. He adorned the usual First High School uniform, unsurprisingly there was the school's emblem on the left side of his chest.

Natsu wasn't fazed in the least by the man's actions. He had grown up in a war-zone where it was tradition to greet people with a hail of gunfire and high-level lethal magic, and the only way to clean yourself was to bathe in the blood of your enemies. He had been feared as the devil incarnate by those he had decimated throughout Asia and as a living nightmare by those whose dreams he haunted. No mere glare would even make him flinch.

 _'This is most likely Lyon Milkovich...it seems as though Gray's assessment of him was dead on.'_

Lyon, who had been sitting at the table working on paperwork for the upcoming club week, stood up and walked towards Mavis. He stood roughly an inch below Natsu, though his shoulders were a little narrower and his build much less defined. He was slightly handsome, but otherwise unremarkable. The psion light densely clung to the air around his body, signaling that while he had considerable magic power, he had relatively little control over it and constantly emitted a low psion light.

"I am the Vice President, Lyon Milkovich. Mavis Vermillion, allow me to personally welcome you to the Student Council." He spoke calmly, while suppressing any personal reaction that he might have due to being in the presence of such a beautiful girl. His right hand shook a little, probably because he wished to shake her hand but didn't want to be too forward.

Lyon returned to his seat, completely ignoring the presence of the other person who had entered the room alongside Mavis. To anyone who was watching, it seemed a little pitiful for the Vice President of First High School to ignore another student based only upon the fact that he was a Course 2 student. If this was how the Student Council acted, it wasn't hard to figure out why this stigma had already spread to the newly enrolled freshmen.

Meredy and Yukino, whom had been sitting at the table in the center of the room and had most likely already received the same greeting, rolled their eyes at his words but soon that turned to a glare after they heard nothing else from him.

The other members in the room also seemed a little displeased at Lyon's attitude and actions, but chose not to make a big deal out of it unless he caused a scene.

"Ah, you're finally here."

"Welcome Mavis, you too Natsu-kun."

From the way Erza casually raised her hand in greeting, she was already treating Natsu as one of them. Ultear's attitude had not changed at all since he had first met her. Natsu, much like everyone else, had long since arrived at the conclusion that trying to understand these two was a hopeless cause.

"This way Mavis." Mira spoke up as she led Mavis to the terminal off to the side.

"Well, let's be off Natsu. The Student Council will take care of Mavis. How about we move on over?" Erza spoke as she walked to a door that was on the other end of the Student Council Office.

It hadn't even been a whole day yet, and she's already speaking so casually...perhaps flightiness is part of her character?

"Where to?" Natsu asked, not voicing his thoughts on her character.

Erza's first action was to bring her arm up to her chest and stick her thumb out towards the door. "The Public Moral Committee headquarters in next door right through here. The two committees interact quite a lot, so for convenience the two rooms are connected."

"...That's quite the strange design." Natsu commented as he walked to Erza's side.

"I thought so too. Shall we go?"

Just as Erza was about to reach for the door, a comment stopped her.

"Scarlet-san, please wait a moment."

The person that wished to voice an objection was none other than the Vice President. Upon hearing this, Erza replied in a strict demeanor that seemed to fit her character rather well.

"Is there a problem, Lyon Vastia Milkovich?"

"Please don't address me by my full name!" Lyon whined in exasperation, this woman did this every single time they came into contact with one another.

Hearing Erza's question, Natsu glanced over at Ultear. Seeing Natsu's gaze, she tilted her head in a questioning fashion before a lightbulb went off in her head, finally understanding his curious gaze. She rubbed the back of her head sheepishly before nodding her head.

It appeared that Ultear and Lyon were half-siblings judging from his full name and appearance. That actually made a lot of sense, Ultear and Gray looked quite similar with their hair color, skin tone, and facial structure, whereas Lyon possessed completely unrelated physical features. Ultear and Gray were most likely full siblings and Lyon only half. Probably the same mother, but different fathers, based upon whom the matriarch of the Milkovich clan was.

It wasn't such a different case from him and Mavis, they too were half-siblings. Though in their case it was the same father, but different mothers. And while they may not look alike in the slightest, they acted more like siblings than he did with his own blood-related family. Such a thing could not be said for the Milkovich siblings based upon what Natsu had observed.

"Then let's go with Vice President Lyon Vastia."

"Please call me Lyon Milkovich!" Lyon whined once more.

"It's your father's official title isn't it?" Erza asked rhetorically, remembering the name Lyon went by in middle school. "In fact, you refused to take up the Milkovich name until you entered high school. Something about wanting to be known as the son of a member of the Magic Council instead of a clan head."

"It has nothing to do with the title now and my father retired from the Magic Council to years ago! The school has already accepted the name 'Lyon Milkovich'!...No, that's not what I wanted to say."

"Then get on with it, I don't have all day to wait on you." Erza spoke coldly to the silver-haired boy. It was obvious that she was getting a little irritated with his attitude.

Lyon's embarrassed expression receded as he calmed himself down. He now took a stoic expression with a sharp glare aimed towards Natsu once more.

"Scarlet-san, the topic that I wished to address is in regards to the replacement for the Public Morals Committee."

"You should know that the Student Council has no business interfering in my Committee."

Still, Lyon did not back down from his position.

"I object to you appointing this first year student to the Public Morals Committee." When Lyon stated his opinion, he was either perfectly calm, or was forcibly holding his emotions in check.

It was most likely the latter considering he had not been capable of holding back all of them, as his hands clenched tightly and were slightly shaking.

Erza's eyebrows wrinkled slightly, Natsu couldn't tell if she was merely surprised or irritated by this statement.

"What is this nonsense? Ultear and myself were the ones to nominate Natsu Vermillion for this position. Are you questioning our authority, or are you simply too stubborn to accept his appointment to my committee?"

"I have heard that the receiving party has not yet agreed. Despite the nomination, the matter remains unofficial until he personally agrees." Lyon was confident that a Course 2 student would be aware of the repercussions of him joining the Public Moral Committee and would immediately decline for his own sake.

A confused expression made its way onto Natsu's face and took this opportunity to interject.

"I don't know where your getting your facts from...but I made it quite clear earlier that I would be accepting this position...are you simply making up things to support your point?" Natsu's words were intentionally said to rile up the Vice President. If he lost his composure at this moment it would make all his refusals meaningless.

As expected, Lyon finally stopped ignoring Natsu's presence to glare at him as if trying to burn a hole through his school. Natsu noticed this and scoffed, he was the only one who could ignite fire along his line of sight.

The other students in the room merely watched the scene play out before them. Though, by this point in time, Lyon had already cast a negative light upon himself. It was quite embarrassing to watch a student from Class 2A get so worked up over a single student joining the Moral Committee. Though he had always been a pain in the ass, not that the first year students knew that.

"To date, there had been no precedence of a Weed being nominated into the Moral Committee." Lyon stated arrogantly.

Lyon's rebuttal was laced with a derogatory term. Upon hearing this, Erza noticeably became more angered by the man in front of her.

"That's a prohibited term, Vice President Milkovich! A term that has been banned for years by the Public Morals Committee. Do you think you're untouchable just because of the fact that you're the Vice President?! If you can't even follow the rules that the school has set, what makes you think that you have the right to even call yourself the Vice President?" Erza's voice grew quite dark near the end.

Lyon started to sweat a little at the thought of going up against 'Titania' Erza, but he showed no intention of backing down.

"Even if you sugarcoat it, there's no denying the fact that Weeds have less magical ability than us Blooms. The difference between Weeds and Blooms is something that is written into the school system, and acknowledged by the school itself. The Public Morals Committee members are responsible for subjugating students who break the rules that the school has put in place! How can you expect a student of inferior ability to be able to manage Blooms?!"

Erza smiled coldly at Lyon's statement. It was a smile that sent shivers down the spines of most the senior members of the room.

"So...a Course 2 student cannot become a member of my committee because you claim they have lower combat abilities eh?...You talk to much Milkovich. You can talk as much as you like, but in the end actions are what really matter. So unless you're willing to show me that you're superior, shut up and sit down. You're abilities are inferior to my own, so what gives you the right to challenge me? Those are your own words aren't they?"

Lyon clenched his hands until they were white and grit his teeth at Erza's words. Bottom line, Lyon believed that his stance was correct. Course 2 students with inferior abilities could not handle the responsibilities of the Public Moral Committee that were so heavily reliant on ability. The fact that no Course 2 student had ever been appointed to the Moral Committee until now supported this belief.

Erza was not finished just yet either, "To this day, there has never been a Course 2 student to act as a member of the Public Morals Committee. To get it through that tiny little brain of yours, Course 2 students that improperly use magic against school regulations are apprehended by Course 1 students. As you said, there is a wide divide between Course 1 and Course 2 students. Course 1 students can apprehend Course 2 students, but the reverse cannot be said. This has only served to widen the divide between the student body, your attitude and actions are only proof of that. I do not like it that the committee members under my command are only serving to make conditions for these students worse."

There was nothing Lyon could say at the moment that would support his point any further.

"Ah...Quite impressive, Erza. You've even thought that far ahead? I thought you only cared about Natsu-kun." Ultear said, trying to dissolve the surrounding atmosphere.

"President, please be quiet." Erza responded with a tick mark on her forehead.

This may have been the life raft that Lyon had been looking for.

"President...as the Vice President, I object to appointing Natsu Vermillion as a Public Morals Committee member." Lyon turned to Ultear and spoke in an exaggerated tone. "While I accept that chairman Scarlet has a point in her assertion, the original mission of the Public Morals Committee is to uncover and subjugate those students who break the rules! A Course 2 student who is lacking in magical ability cannot perform the duties that is required to him. Please reconsider!"

Ultear sighed in exasperation. For some reason, she knew it would come to this. She and Lyon had never seen eye to eye, perhaps it came from the different upbringings they had. While she had actually been trained from the ground up by their mother, alongside Gray after he was born, Lyon had been born with a high level of talent. His feelings of superiority were only furthered by the fact that he was admitted into First High School several years early. In reality, he was a year younger than Gray, who was currently seventeen.

"Lyon...please stop this, you lost this battle a long time ago. You are only continuing to make a fool of yourself in front of your underclassmen...I've already made my decision and I will not with draw it. What kind of President would I be if I continuously went back on my word?" Ultear asked with a smile. "Though if you are still unsure, why not have a mock battle to test him? Actually I think it would be a good idea for all of us to see how skilled Natsu-kun if in actual combat."

The people who were at a loss for words were not limited to Lyon and Natsu alone. Most of those in the room could only stare on in silence at such a simple solution coupled with the fact at how she told off her own brother.

Mavis groaned at the prospect of a fight. If there was one thing Natsu loved as much as her and food, it was a fight...though him against this clown wouldn't even last three seconds. Nevertheless, it would still be entertaining to watch, Mavis had been keeping silent so that Erza and the President could handle him, but she was looking forward to seeing her Onii-sama smear that arrogant smirk off his face.

Natsu smirked at the blatant challenge laid out before him. "Sounds like fun, I was getting a bit bored with hearing the little lion whining nonstop. It was amusing for the first few minutes, then it just got kinda sad to watch."

Some of the females had to stifle their laughter at his obvious disrespect to one of his seniors, though Natsu did look a bit older than the Vice President.

"Don't act so conceited for a mere Weed!" Lyon raged, getting even angrier at how confident this Course 2 student was acting. Though his furious expression turned into an arrogant one at the thought of thoroughly trouncing him for all the Student Council to see. "Actually, a mock battle does have merit to it. Why don't I use it to show you where you belong...groveling at my feet."

Ultear smiled at the prospect of finally being able to witness Natsu's actual ability. She didn't know why or how, but she just knew he would win. She could never forget that feeling she experienced yesterday, so much power, so much emotion, so much bloodlust. It was so exhilarating, she wanted to experience it again. Though she knew it would sound odd if she asked him to do such a thing, so she would settle with seeing what he has to back such intense feelings up.

"Very well, as the Student Council President, I authorize the formal mock battle match between 2nd Year Class A, Lyon Milkovich and 1st Year Class E, Natsu Vermillion."

"On the basis of the Student Council President's declaration, as the Chair of the Public Morals Committee, I recognize that the match between the two said students as a legitimate extracurricular activity in abidance with the rules and regulations of First High School." Erza stated professionally, as the Chair of the Public Morals Committee, she was responsible for all sanctioned matches. "The time of the match will be twenty minutes from now, at the second practice room. The match will be a private one, only to be viewed by those present in this room, the use of CADs is authorized as well for both sides."

The time allotted until the match was so that both parties could prepare for the match, this included the retrieval of personal CADs.

What they didn't know was that Natsu already had one CAD on his person since he was wearing his custom engraved glove. Technically he was breaking school rules, but such a thing wasn't a concern for him. If he was caught, he would merely erase the memories of the person he was confronted by.

However, he did store a special model CAD at the front office, just in case he would need it later on. He supposed this was as good as an opportunity as any to break it out.

* * *

"It's only the third day of school and already were involved in something like this huh?" Natsu asked rhetorically as he walked to through the halls to the second practice room alongside Mavis.

After retrieving a briefcase which contained his CAD from the front office in exchange for the approval letter stamped with the president's official stamp, the pair of siblings were reminiscing upon the day's events. It was already late into the afternoon, so even those upperclassmen who were busy with club activities would be returning home soon.

It would be best to finish up this match quickly so it would not be too dark on their way home.

In all honesty, Natsu didn't need to use magic to deal with someone on the level of Lyon. His physical prowess along with martial arts or ninjutsu would be more than enough, though he knew that the reason for this match was to get a glimpse of his magical prowess just as much as it was to get Lyon to quit whining. He would show Ultear and Erza that he was more than capable of dealing with opponents using magic, nothing more, nothing less.

It was odd for a superpower to carry around a CAD, they could bypass all additional steps needed for activation and invocation, after all. Mere thoughts were enough to activate their specialized magic. However, Natsu wouldn't be using either of his superpowers for a menial task such as this. With the CAD that was specially designed by him, even someone with zero ability in generic magic could pull of the most basic of spells.

"...I'm sorry Onii-sama, this is all my fault." A quivering voice spoke up from beside Natsu.

All Natsu needed to hear was the trembling of her voice to know that something was wrong. He looked over to his sister and noticed her red, puffy cheeks and the tears threatening to spill from her eyes. Was it wrong to think she looked just precious with such an expression? Still, Natsu just couldn't grasp the concept of why she was crying.

"M-Mavis! What's wrong!? Why are you crying!?" Natsu exclaimed, not exactly sure how to comfort her in this particular situation.

She wiped her eyes trying to hide the fact that she was crying. It didn't help much because he could still hear her sniffling.

"I'm not...crying...I'm...not crying! Not at all!" Mavis yelled out cutely.

 _'Oh my...she is just too adorable right now...this is too much.'_

Despite his thoughts, Natsu took a step forward and wrapped his free arm around his little sister's back, bringing her closer towards his body. Mavis's body trembled slightly as she timidly looked up with a teary-eyed expression.

"But Onii-sama, it's because of my fault that I'm causing trouble for you again...if I hadn't been so excited about joining the Student Council, then you wouldn't have accepted that position on the Morals Committee...if I hadn't been so unskilled in controlling my magic, then you wouldn't even have to be going to this school in the first place!"

Natsu moved his hand from around her waist to just above her head. Mavis looked up into his eyes once more after feeling the gentle pat on her head and stroking of her hair.

"Onii-sama..."

"You don't ever need to apologize for anything...no matter what it is, know that you could do anything wrong to make me upset with you."

"...But..."

"Don't apologize...isn't now the time to say something more appropriate?" Natsu spoke, trying to cheer his still teary-eyes sister up.

"You're right...please do your best."

Wiping a tear from her eye, Mavis gave a wide smile to, and in a similar fashion, Natsu smiled back.

Once again, the atmosphere created between the two exceeded that of the most star-struck lovers. If this were to proceed in the direction that it was heading, this scene would put Romeo and Juliet to shame. Should one of them make a move at this precise moment, the lines between siblings and lovers would undoubtedly be crossed.

"U-Um...would I happen to be interrupting a moment here?" A feminine voice managed to awkwardly speak up off to the side.

Natsu and Mavis had been so wrapped up with each other that they hadn't realized that they reached their designated practice room quite a while ago. They looked over to see a completely red-faced and flustered Erza who had most likely been waiting for her chance to interrupt the two siblings. She had probably come out to greet them after she heard their voices outside the door.

Right now she deeply regretted her choice of actions. What she had seen and heard were so sweet and loving that they would be engraved into her mind for the rest of her life. Some things cannot be forgotten...no matter how much you wish to. Though right now her overactive imagination was working overtime, as images of the two siblings in rather compromising positions flooded her mind.

"Scarlet-senpai, are you alright? There seems to be a bit of steam coming off of your heard." It appeared that she had been so embarrassed that something that only occurred in anime and manga was happening to her.

It took a few moments, but she finally recovered her composure and took on a professional visage. It appears that she would be doing her best to put what just happened out of her mind, in light of the mock battle that the President had set up.

"This is surprising."

Upon hearing the line spoken to him, Natsu looked at Erza with a questioning look. "What is?"

"I was referring to your unexpected enthusiasm at fighting. I thought you were one who wasn't bothered by the remarks of others." Even while talking about her surprise, her eyes were sparkling with anticipation.

"I thought it was the job of a Public Morals Committee member to stop personal fights." Instead of answering her inquiry, he responded with a somewhat sarcastic remark.

There was not a single sign of Erza rebutting that.

"This is not a personal fight, but a formal one. Ultear said it too, didn't she Natsu? The rule of strength is not something applied between the Course 1 and Course 2 students. Rather, it is something applied between the Course 1 students themselves. This is the very first time that we are using such a method to settle things between a Course 1 and a Course 2 student. Though, it would be nice for someone to finally put him in his place."

 _'I see, so it is encouraged to settle things by force if they cannot be settled by words alone...it's to be expected of a magic high school.'_ Natsu thought as he listened to Erza's explanation.

"Hasn't the number of formal matches increased ever since you took the position of Chair of the Public Morals Committee last semester, Senpai?"

"Please, call me Erza. And indeed, it did increase." Her calm attitude caused not just Natsu, but even Mavis who was waiting a step behind him to smile wryly.

Then, Erza suddenly turned serious and brought her face close to Natsu's own. "Well, are you confident that you can win? I'd like to see you do just that." At a distance where he could hear her breathing, she asked in a whisper.

Mavis's beautiful eyebrows rose at the overly close distance, but as Natsu's field of view was largely occupied by Erza's face which was giving off a meaningful smile, it was fortunate that he could not see his little sister's overreaction.

With her head partially lowered with a pair of upturned, large brown eyes, and in addition to that, a faint, sweet scent drifting toward him, Natsu became well aware of the beauty that was Erza Scarlet. Though, it would take much more than this to get him worked up.

"While Lyon is probably the biggest prick in the school, he is among the top ten strongest when it comes to magic. He's never lost a fight since he entered the school a year ago. Though, he's more inclined towards group battles rather than personal ones. But still, there are only a handful of students on campus who can defeat him one-on-one." In an alluring high pitched voice, Erza whispered those words which were devoid of any sexual charm.

"I'm not thinking of fighting him head on." Without the slightest sign of wavering, Natsu replied in a clearly uninterested tone.

"You are pretty calm...I'll put my confidence in you." While saying that, Erza was clearly amused. "At a time like this, if your face turns red, which will make you cuter, the number of people who will lend you their strength will increase, I think." Grinning as she stepped back, Erza made her way into the second practice room.

 _'She's probably the type who would seek chaos in order and bring about order in chaos.'_ Natsu thought to himself, as he followed Erza into the room with Mavis not far behind.

To a person living in tranquility, she was a troublemaker.

Women were far too complicated for him to ever understand.

Natsu walked over to a table off to the side and set down his CAD case, after which he opened it up. The black attaché case contained a pair oh handgun shaped CADs. He took one of them out, pulled out a cartridge from the place where a magazine would be lodged on a real gun and exchanged it for a separate cartridge.

The CAD itself was a long-barrel model, and was rather slim when compared to a real gun. It was black in color, with silver accents on the handle and partially on the barrel. The lettering engraved into the barrel was red in color and read, 'Chrome Raven'. This was Natsu's personal CAD.

The Chrome Raven, a CAD that far surpassed the best CAD manufacturing company's, Four Leaves Technology, famed Silver Horn. In reality, Taurus Silver got the idea to create the Loop Cast System from watching Natsu, as Havoc, in action during the Defense Battle in Okinawa in 2092. Natsu had developed his version of the Loop Cast System several months before he even got the idea though, and it was far superior to his model.

The Loop Cast System is the activation sequence that skips the step of restarting each activation sequence. If the magic sequence is the same, then the CAD no longer has to rebuild and restart the activation sequence each time a magic sequence is continuously invoked. This is done by adding a copying power to the magic calculation area's execution mode, adding a copy of the activation sequence's last parts to the activation sequence itself, so magicians can endlessly invoke magic within their ability.

The loop-cast system is what revolutionized modern magic. However, it may have been based upon the abilities of a superpower, but it still came nowhere close to the activation speed and continuous activation of their abilities.

The Chrome Raven was optimized for Natsu's Loop Cast System. It boasted a smooth magic invocation with only minimal magic ability, bringing Natsu's non-existent ability with generic magic and more specialized forms of it up to the ability of a Course 1 student. A CAD of this caliber would greatly increase the nation's military power if it ever went public, however, Natsu was the only one to possess such a high-spec CAD.

He mainly used it for employing his [Counter Magic], but for this match he switched it out for a separate cartridge of activation sequences. Naturally, this was a specialized CAD.

The number of activation sequences that could be used with a specialized CAD was limited. In contrast to the generalized CAD which could store up to ninety-nine different types of activation sequences without regard to the systems of magic, the specialized CAD could only store nine types of activation sequences of a single system of magic. To remedy this disadvantage, CAD devices that could store alternate, exchangeable activation sequences were developed, but since specialized CADs were originally intended for magicians who are strong in specific magic sequences, the need for an increased arsenal of magic is not too high. More often than not, even when multiple cartridges were carried, most magicians still relied on using one type of magic.

With a system for almost instantaneous reloading, and with cartridges that had a much higher storage capacity with several different layers that held various activation sequences that surpassed that bounds between generalized and specialized CADs, this was the perfect sidearm for a modern magician.

Except for Mavis, everyone watched him prepare his CAD intently with deep interest.

"Sorry for the wait." Natsu stepped towards the middle of the practice room after finishing up his preparations.

"Do you always carry additional storage cartridges with you?" Erza asked curiously. It was not everyday that someone carried numerous activations sequences on their person, due to most magicians specializing in a particular type of magic.

"Yes, I am unable to smoothly operate a generalized CAD due to my low ability to use modern magic." It was vague answer, therefore he wasn't exactly lying. He was unable to use modern magic with a generalized CAD and most other CADs in general.

Lyon, who was standing across from him ready to start this match, sneered slightly upon hearing this, but that did not impact Natsu's mindset in the slightest.

All those who had been in the Student Council Room were present for the subsequent match as it was something that would be too interesting to pass up, although it appeared that Erza would be the judge for it.

"Alright, allow me to explain the rules. In terms of both direct and indirect attacks, lethal attacks are, of course, prohibited. Techniques that will result in the permanent disability to the opponent are also prohibited. Abilities that cause direct harm to the physical body are forbidden, however, direct attacks that result in nothing more than bone fractures are permitted. The use of weapons will not be allowed at any time. Unarmed combat is allowed. The condition for defeat is when the judge has determined one side is unable to continue the battle or when either party is rendered unconscious. Do both combatants understand these conditions?"

Both Natsu and Lyon nodded, prompting Erza to continue.

"Both sides please move behind your respective starting lines, and do not activate you CAD until I give the signal. Breaking the rules results in an automatic defeat. I will use my full strength to stop it, so remember that. That is all."

Natsu and Lyon nodded once more and walked towards the starting lines that were five meters apart, and stood facing each other.

Lyon's expression was more solemn or expressionless rather than mocking or challenging, but his face still betrayed an easy-going demeanor.

Natsu's expression had not really changed since he entered the room. This was highly unusual for someone who loved to fight and thirsted for them, but if one thought about it, it was to be expected. He was not fighting one of the fellow Ten Wizard Saints nor war he up against a world-class mage. He was matched up against a high school boy with an overinflated ego.

Five meters was the distance between the two. At this range, magic would normally be faster than the body. Given this, it would appear as though Lyon held the advantage due to the fact that he was a Course 1 student and possessed a faster magic invocation speed. Because this was a magic-based contest, the side with the superior magic attack would naturally hold the advantage.

In a contest such as this one, the combatant who invoked their magic first would most likely be the victor. Even if the initial spell did not render the opposing magician unconscious, some degree of damage was unavoidable. There were very few people who possessed the mental discipline to take on large amounts of magic damage and still calmly work their magic. Since sustaining magical damage also disrupted the magic creation process, as long as one continued to attack, victory was almost guaranteed.

Also, under the condition that both parties activated their CADs at the same time, Lyon firmly believed that he, a Course 1 student, would completely outclass an upstart Course 2 student, who even claimed to have low abilities amongst his Course 2 peers. CAD was a tool that minimized casting time. Even is someone secretly tried to use a non-CAD based magical ability before Erza gave the starting signal, it would still be no match against the invocation speed of a CAD. On top of that, how quickly one could invoke their magic using a CAD made up the bulk of an individual's magic technical score. This was the defining difference between Course 1 and Course 2 students.

Natsu held a handgun-shaped specialized CAD.

Lyon wore a traditional bracelet-shaped generalized CAD.

Specialized CADs held the advantage in speed, while generalized CADs held the advantage in versatility.

Though that didn't matter here. Even if specialized CADs had the advantage in speed, that alone could not overcome the difference of abilities between Course 1 and Course 2 students, not to mention the fact that the opponent was a new student and would undoubtedly have less experience than him. Lyon's conclusion was that there was absolutely no outcome that resulted in his defeat.

In his eyes, this Weed was a fool for accepting this duel in the first place. He must have known that he would be no match for a Course 1 student with superior abilities, so why would he willingly accept to be humiliated in front of some of the most prominent students of this school?

Natsu pointed the CAD he held in his right hand towards the floor as he closed his eyes and waited for Erza's signal to begin.

Meanwhile, Lyon was busy thinking of a strategy to ensure his victory. The observers were not only his peers, but also the newly recruited first year girls, whom he hoped to leave a good impression on. Both as a Bloom and as their senpai.

 _'Once the match begins, while Vermillion waits on his activation sequence to expand, I will use a simple [Movement-Type] spell. That spell will blow him back ten meters and the subsequent impact will render him unconscious. With that, it'll be my win.'_ Lyon had absolute faith that his strategy would go off without a hitch. Now all he had to do was wait for Erza to start the match.

The second practice room was filled with silence and anticipation as both the combatants and the audience waited for Erza to signal the start of the match. Just as silence filled every corner of the room, her melodic voice cut through that silence like one of the magic swords she was so proud of.

"...Begin!"

Upon hearing the official start of the match, Lyon lifted his left arm with the CAD strapped to his wrist at Natsu, and slid his right hand over the CAD. While the completion of the activation sequence only consisted of the action of tapping three key points on the CAD, not a single spare movement was wasted.

Originally, Lyon's specialty lied in medium-ranged wide area attack magic, this included his clan's famed [Ice Magic]. This specialization meant that his magic was not inclined towards one-on-one close quarters matches but even so he remained undefeated since entering First High School last year. Though, he had only ever been challenged by first year Course 1 students and a few second years. If he were to face off against any member of the Big Three, he would have certainly lost.

The Big Three consisted of his elder half-sister, Ultear, who could freely employ astounding, high-speed, high-precision shooting magic, alongside her [Ice Magic]. She was the best in the use of [Ice Magic] in the Milkovich clan other than their mother. Erza a specialist in both individual and group anti-personnel combat, and she boasted the fastest activation and invocation speeds in the school with her signature [Requip: The Knight], a magic that only she could preform. And Laxus Dreyar, the Club Management Group leader and a magician who excelled in the use of highly-offensive spells, namely his [Lightning Magic].

The simplistic activation sequence that heavily relied on speed was already complete, and within a moment, Lyon had already entered the magic invocation stage.

At this point in time, Lyon almost stumbled back, which would have cancelled his magic invocation due to the lack of focus.

His opponent, Natsu Vermillion, was nowhere in sight. He had only looked down to type the correct keys on his CAD for a fraction of a moment and within this time lapse, the first year student had somehow managed to vanish into thin air.

At this point, the magic Lyon was invoking ceased to exist.

While the target of magic sequences did not have to be very specific, if the target that was originally in the caster's line of sight suddenly disappears, spell failure was inevitable.

The Psion Information Aide that was supposed to keep track of his opponent's status and location vanished without any effect, just as a powerful 'wave motion' approache Lyon from behind, who was too busy looking left and right for his opponent.

Three consecutive wave motions.

Each wave motion overlapped with each other inside Lyon's body, causing an unbearable feeling of drowsiness to consume Lyon from the inside out. To him, it felt like he hadn't slept in over a week and his body was finally giving in to its need for rest. Within the span of a millisecond, he fell flat on his face and entered a deep slumber.

Natsu could be found standing several meters behind the now downed form of Lyon, with his CAD pointed right at where the sleeping boy was previously standing.

Victory was decided in an instant. That was not an exaggeration, the entire course of the match lasted just under two seconds, such a thing could only be described as an instant win.

This was an expected outcome for Natsu, he was well known as a magician of unrivaled speed throughout Japan. Even without his [Lightning Release Armor], he was still faster than human comprehension. For modern magicians, who relied heavily on coordinates and the position of their opponents, Natsu was practically untouchable.

There was absolute silence in the room for a few seconds. Once again an eerie silence filled ever corner of the room as every student present was stunned into silence by the result of the mock battle, even those who had expected Natsu to come out victorious.

This of course excluded Mavis who was smiling cheerfully and rushed to her Onii-sama's side as soon as it was clear that the match was over.

"...Winner, Natsu Vermillion." Erza breathlessly announced the name of the victor.

There were not many emotions on Natsu's face, it was merely the bored expression of someone who had arrived at the expected outcome. He brought his CAD down to his side and walked over to the table that held his CAD case, with Mavis following right behind him.

"Wait." Erza called out from behind him. "That movement right there...was that high-speed movement a spell?...or some kind of self-acceleration movement technique?...I've never seen anyone move so fast before..."

Hearing this, Ultear, Mira, Chelia, Meredy, and Yukino all began reflecting on the match. At the moment the start signal was given, Natsu had blurred out of existence, then at the next instant, he was several meters behind Lyon. Most people would mistake that action as magic as it was presumed that the human body was incapable of such movement.

"For that to have been magic is impossible...you should know that more than anyone, Erza-senpai."

It was just as Natsu said. As the judge, Erza was closely observing whether either of their CADs had been preemptively activated, and although she was no expert at magical engineering, nor had she ever seen a CAD quite like Natsu's, she was certain that he hadn't activated any magic until that spell he pulled out at the end.

"But...that..." Erza couldn't seem to grasp what he did if it wasn't either of those options.

"It wasn't a spell. It's purely physical skill." Natsu informed Erza as he turned around to face her.

"But...how...?"

"It's a physical technique, as Onii-sama said. Onii-sama was mentored by Mystogan-sensei ever since he was a child. Though, he was unable to continue his training when we moved away from Tokyo, but now he's once again an apprentice in ninjutsu at the temple." Mavis commented with a smile .

Erza held her breath for a moment. For someone as well versed in combat as she was, the name Mystogan was quite familiar. He was a man made legendary in the arts of ancient magic and was comparable to that of one of the Ten Wizard Saints. Ultear, Mira, and Meredy did not know of Mystogan the way that Erza did, but they too could not hide their surprise that someone could accomplish such a feat that was though impossible without the aid of magic.

Ultear was the quickest to cover from her astonishment. From the perspective of someone who had extensively studied magic, she had her own question. "Was that offensive spell also ninjutsu? It seemed like there was a psion surge to me..."

Generally, inquiring about about another magician's abilities, or to even ask how the ability works, was frowned upon or against the rules due to each magician or clan having their own secrets and abilities that were not for the ears of the public. But for someone such as Ultear, who utilizes Psion Bullets, for Natsu to use psions that had no physical manifestation as a weapon, and exactly how he managed to damage Lyon...her thirst for knowledge could not be suppressed.

"You are correct. That wasn't ninjutsu, but a spell that was based on psion wave motions. That was a personal spell I created based upon a form of ancient magic, that was my [Sleep Magic]."

"I've never heard of something like that before. Given that, I still don't understand how you knocked out Lyon." Ultear asked with a tilt of the head.

As he watched Ultear tilt her head in a fashion that most males would find cute, Natsu's expression did not change. It was as if he was lecturing a child.

"I didn't knock him out, I put him to sleep. [Sleep Magic] is an incredibly powerful spell, so powerful that not even higher ranking professional magicians can successfully withstand its effects. Those wave motions enter the body and resound off of each other utilizing vibrations, creating a strong surge of oscillations that targets the neurotransmitters in the brain and shuts down the activity of neurons, causing an overwhelming feeling of drowsiness." Natsu explained to the elder girl.

Needless to say, Ultear was utterly speechless that Natsu was able to create such a spell.

"By activating the three spell simultaneously, using Lyon's location as an intersection point, you caused the compound waves to overlap and therefore overwhelm the chemicals and neurons in the brain into a state where they become inactive making them think that they're tired and need to rest. To think that you were able of making such precise calculations!" Mira exclaimed in amazement, he had forgotten that the girl had been interested in magic engineering when they were younger.

"Quite the explanation Jane-senpai, your analysis was spot-on."

The faces of all the upperclassmen paled considerably at Natsu's response. They knew what happened whenever someone called her by that name. She wasn't always the sweet and gentle woman that she was today. In middle school and for a short time during her first year of high school, she was an evil and feared woman infamous amongst all the magic high schools. Whenever someone called her 'Jane', the demon was let loose once more.

However, strangely enough, nothing happened. Natsu was still breathing, Mira was still smiling, and in fact her small smile grew even wider. The upperclassmen of the room were now thoroughly confused.

"My Natsu, you haven't called me that since we were kids." Mira held her hand to her cheek and sighed dreamily, while Natsu gave her an incredulous look that screamed 'how are you able to say something like that?! You practically told me to call you that earlier!', but it was ignored as she got to her real question. "Speaking of which, how are you able to continuously invoke the same spell three times? If your technical speed is so high, why are you a Course 2 student?"

Even at such a direct reference to his low scores, Natsu's smile did not falter in the least while talking to his childhood friend.

Ever since laying eyes on Natsu's CAD, Chelia could not calm down in the slightest. She was often described as a 'Device Geek', whom aspired to be a magic engineer for a professional company, so there was no way that she would miss the opportunity to see such a high-class CAD first hand.

"Umm~Natsu-kun, is that CAD the 'Silver Horn'?" During the time Natsu was conversing with Mira, Chelia managed to close the distance between them and was now currently bent down right in front of Natsu's CAD. "Oh my gosh it is! It's the real deal!"

"Silver Horn? Silver, as in the genius magic engineer Taurus Silver?" At Ultear's question, Chelia visibly brightened.

"That's him! The miraculous CAD engineer associated with Four Leaves Technology, whose name, appearance, and data all remain a mystery! The genius programmer who was the first in the world to make the Loop Cast System a reality." Chelia explained excitedly. "The Silver Horn is the name of the fully customized specialized model CAD developed by Taurus Silver himself!"

All members in the room stared at the girl with blank expressions, not daring to stop her when she was this excited. Though as she was right now, Chelia was a bit too much for them to handle.

"Naturally, it has the best adjustments for the Loop Cast System, is able to invoke magic stably using the least amount of magic power, is critically acclaimed, and is especially popular among the law enforcement population." Chelia continued her assessment of the CAD with stars in her eyes. Natsu was sure that if she had a tail, it would be wagging. "Although it's sold on the market, but that requires a special tuning and special fee! And judging by the way the barrel is longer than the traditional model, yours must be a limited edition model?! Where did you get that?!"

"A-chan, you need to calm down a little." Ultear spoke with a sweatdrop as she waved her hand in front of her face slightly.

Perhaps it was because of asthma or overexcitement, but Chelia's chest was heaving as her eyes were glued onto the CAD held in Natsu's hand. Her eyes shining, it was as if she was child in a toy store.

"You're a bit off in your analysis, Chelia-senpai." Natsu finally spoke as her raised the CAD above his head as Chelia was jumping to try and get a closer look at it. "While your assessment was right for the CAD 'Silver Horn' developed by Taurus Silver...his CAD and mine couldn't be more different."

Those words effectively froze Chelia in place, as well as earned the curiosity of those in the room. Chelia looked up at Natsu, though he didn't even flinch at the teary-eyed expression she was looking at him with. This was the first time she had been wrong with the assessment of a CAD, she prided herself on the fact that she knew every CAD inside and out. It was why she was so skilled in magic engineering, hearing that she was completely wrong was a major blow to her self-esteem.

Natsu could only sigh. He had just finished dealing with one crying girl, he didn't want to deal with another, especially since this one wasn't even related to him.

"Though that is to be expected. Nobody would know the specifications of this CAD, after all every piece of it, including both the hardware and the software was designed by me."

Once again, everyone was at a loss for words. That was to be expected of course, it was not everyday that a high school teenager was able to claim that they developed and designed their own custom CAD.

And once again, Ultear was the first to recover. It was as if nothing ever fazed the woman.

"What do you mean, Natsu-kun?"

It seemed that they wouldn't do with the explanation that was given. Such a thing was only natural, it seemed that he would at least have to enlighten his upperclassmen of the basics of his CAD. He could at least explain that much to them.

"While the Silver Horn developed by Taurus Silver has become quite popular and bears a resemblance to my CAD, it was only released privately last year. This CAD is my personal favorite and is one that I finished designing almost four years ago, of course it has been upgraded since then." Natsu explained to those who weren't familiar with his magic engineering skills. Actually not even Mavis could really understand, since she could be called a 'Mechanical Dunce'. "You may choose to or not to believe me, I don't really care either way, but I first started designing this CAD with a Loop Cast System in mind and had developed it several years prior to Taurus Silver. Though, I never went public with it due to not being a professional magic engineer nor did I really care about the recognition. I originally named it the Repetition System, but it would be easier to refer to it as the Loop Cast System after that name became know worldwide."

He expected to be met with a barrage of questions or disagreements, but there was only silence. Information like that would probably be hard to accept or swallow, so the silence was not as awkward as expected.

It seemed that not even Ultear was able to comprehend what he was trying to explain, as this was the first time that she remained quiet.

Oddly enough, it was Yukino who broke the silence. "Actually, I remember you telling me that you were working on something like that when we were younger, Natsu-sama. I don't know why I had forgotten about that until just now, when it's something that we as magicians use everyday."

"Now that you mention it Yu-chan, I remember him trying to explain something like that to me too. Though, I couldn't really fully grasp what he was trying to explain since I was only thirteen at the time." Mira added in as she lightly tapped herself on the head and stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth, making an 'whoopsies' expression.

Natsu groaned inwardly at the interactions of the two siblings. Though, he was actually surprised that they remembered him explaining his theories and ideas to him. Yukino had always been more inclined toward practical skills rather than the technology behind them. She was in the same boat as Mavis, at least when it came to CADs and magic engineering. Mira on the other hand was more adept and was actually interested magic engineering and the sequences behind the magic, though she started at a much later age than Natsu and didn't really grasp his concept of the Repetition System way back then.

"I'm surprised that the two of you remember. Neither of you were exactly the most technically inclined back then." Natsu replied teasingly. Though his tone wasn't too different than when talking with Chelia, he did have a small smile.

Mira only huffed in response and gave him a pout, while Yukino offered him a small smile. He may seem a little different now that he's all grown up, but deep down he's still the same Natsu she knew when she was only a child.

"Wait! So Natsu-sama was really the first one to design the Loop Cast System?!" Chelia could not hold in her surprise, and at some point switched from calling him 'Natsu-kun' to 'Natsu-sama'.

"Yes and no." Natsu was the one to answer the girl. "While my system and Silver's compete similar tasks, they are based upon different principles."

Most people in the room were familiar with the innermost workings of the Loop Cast System due to the fact that they used such a concept and activation sequence on a daily basis, so there was no point in going into excruciating detail on the specifics at the moment.

"Different Principles?"

"The Loop Cast System that you are all familiar with, merely adds a copy of an activation sequence's last parts to the original activation sequence so that a magician can endlessly invoke the same spell, within their ability. This is done by adding a copying power to the magic calculation area's execution mode, and skipping the step of restarting each activation sequence." Natsu explained to the amaranth-haired girl, who seemed to have a question mark above her head.

"My system on the other hand, after the first invocation, deletes the excess data besides the beginning and the end, and continuously replicates itself in a long stream of sequences. The start and the end of a magic sequence are the most crucial parts, so once the spell has already been invoked once, this is all that's necessary to activate the spell once more."

"A copying power is completely unnecessary for the sequence to be replicated and will only slow the invocation down. By programming the sequence to recreate itself in a chain sequence, the magic can be invoked continuously at a much faster rate and for a longer period of time, since the magic calculation area is not sorting through unnecessary data or processing through any excess information."

Natsu finally finished the basics of his Replication System, while the room was once again stunned into silence. There was no harm in revealing this information to these people whom he just met, because it would be nearly impossible for any of them to replicate it. The Replication System was very intricate and complex, even the slightest mistake in trying to recreate it would decimate the entire sequence and render it useless. Those who tried to use an imperfect form of this system would never be able to invoke a single spell, using a CAD programmed with it. It would take at least half a dozen people with the mechanical skills that Taurus Silver had to even come close to figure out how the system worked, Natsu would know, he knew exactly who the man was.

Just as Natsu was about to turn around to put his CAD away, a cry of "Natsu-sama~" and a familiar feeling of his arm being squeezed between two rather large mounds of flesh immediately brought his attention back to the petite girl who was now clinging onto his arm.

"I've finally found someone who can understand my love for science and technology! Please never leave me Natsu-sama!" For some reason, the girl had a dreamy expression on her face. She was probably off in her own world right now.

"Oi, what's wrong with you?!" Natsu yelled as he lifted his arm up and down in the air, trying to shake the girl off in a comical fashion, but she wouldn't budge.

Eventually Natsu relented and moved to put his CAD away once more.

Ignoring the stare that Chelia was giving the CAD, with an expression on her face of deep interest and desire, Natsu replaced the storage device and reset the safety .

He also ignored his little sister's gaze that suggested she wanted to help. Mavis was in no way adept at handling machines. Mechanical Dunce, or high tech allergies would not be an appropriate description, especially since Natsu's CAD was customized to the point that a normal high school student would not be able to handle them. On the other hand, the school's CADs only received limited adjustments, so Natsu would not be able to use them to the full extent of his abilities. The truth was, if Mavis were to help, it would only increase the workload.

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Chelia's head. She was still the only one who was capable of speech at the moment, but the rest of the students in the room were listening to the conversation as well. Well, everyone minus Lyon since he was still snoring softly on the floor.

"Hey Natsu-sama?"

"Hm?"

"If the system that your CAD is based on is different, does your CAD contain special specifications as well?" The girl asked who was now standing by his side, eyeing his CAD intently as she leaned forward with her hands linked behind her back.

"You know your tech quite well Chelia-senpai." Natsu commented offhandedly as he held the CAD in his hands as if inspecting it. "Unlike the Silver Horn which was merely made to possess the best adjustments to the Loop Cast System, my CAD boasts several distinct features."

Natsu held out the CAD before the girl so that she could get a closer look at the design and intricacy.

"Naturally, it possesses the perfect adjustments for my system as well as it is able to invoke using the least amount of magic power, but that is only the beginning." Natsu explained, while the others in the room moved in a little closer so they could see what he was talking about as well. "I've customized it for two extra functions, power and control."

"Power is just as it sounds, it is a modification that increases the strength of any magic that is cast, this solely relies on the ability of the magician of course. Control is arguably the most important of the three. Magicians need to remain absolutely focused to cast their magic and any disruption to their state of mind will render the spell useless, this modification rectifies that. If a magician were to lose focus, that won't disrupt the activation of the spell, it will continue to be cast as it normally would. It also boasts pinpoint accuracy and a rapid fire feature."

Such a high quality system and CAD were needed for him to use magic other than his innate abilities. As with most superpowers, his aptitude for generic magic had decayed so far that he was not even capable of casting the most basic of non-specialized spells. He had designed his personal CAD for the instant use of ancient magic that he had created activation sequences for. Though, he could easily program a CAD of his design for generic magic; he had already done so for Mavis after all.

"Wow...You really thought of everything, Natsu-sama." Chelia commented, in awe that someone their age was able to make such breakthroughs in the field of CAD engineering.

"Of course, I would need something to make up for my lack of natural ability."

It seemed that Chelia's curiosity was satisfied for the moment, so Natsu finished putting away the handgun-shaped CAD and secured it in the CAD case. It was nice to converse with someone who was familiar with the mechanics and science behind CADs. He rarely got the chance to discuss topics such as this due to the fact that his understanding for this field was far greater than what most magicians, let alone people his age, could understand.

On the other hand, Ultear still had another question.

"But, regarding those waves you used to create the spell. Isn't that a little strange? No matter how capable the Loop Cast System is, Loop Cast still can't..."

After the talking stopped, Mira nodded as she tilted her head in the same fashion as Ultear.

"That is strange." Mira's soothing voice rang out, after understanding what Ultear was trying to ask. "Loop Cast is designed for consecutively casting a single type of magic. Even if it is the same psion waves produced, if the wavelength and number of vibrations set by the magician changes, these would cause differences to occur within the activation sequence. Even with the system you have designed, it would be impossible to achieve compounding waves. If you set the number of vibrations as another variable, then it may be possible to use the same activation sequence to achieve compounding waves, while still accounting for all the differences. But if the target, strength, time of duration are all variables, and you include the number of vibrations as another variable...Don't tell me you managed to calculate all of that?"

This time even Mira was stunned to the point of speechlessness, an incredible feat in itself, and under her gaze Natsu merely shrugged.

"It doesn't matter if it's multi-variable quantitative processing speed, calculation scale, or even interference strength. None of these areas are tested when assigning students to either Course 1 or Course 2." Before Ultear and Mira's gaze, Natsu kept his usual demeanor as he picked up his CAD case by the handle with his right hand.

"...The evaluation of magical technical skills only includes invocation speed, the scale of the magic sequence, and phenomena rewriting ability...I see now, so the test is not capable of completely measuring a person's ability..." Erza murmured to herself, wondering just how many skilled students were evaluated incorrectly due to the areas being graded.

To be honest, most of the scientific talk that was going on went right over her head, as she was more of a combat-oriented magician and did not know the first thing about CAD engineering. But even she could tell that what Natsu had created was something that no ordinary high school student would be able to develop.

Erza smirked to herself. She knew that there was something interesting about this boy, that's why she was quite enthusiastic when Ultear came to her and suggested adding him to the Public Morals Committee. She had no doubts that he would be able to handle any of the students misusing magic, including Course 1 students, and seeing Natsu easily defeat one of the top ten magicians in the school only solidified her belief.

"U-Um Natsu? Doesn't it bother you that the school has labelled you as having no skill, when you are actually more skilled than the Course 1 students?!" Meredy was unsure whether to call him her brother or not while speaking, so she just called him as most of the others were doing, as to not upset him.

"Not in the least Meredy-san. My ranking was not incorrect, a millisecond can mean the difference between life and death, so it is only natural to put more emphasis on those with a higher level of natural talent. Actually, I prefer it this way, so that I don't have too many false hopes when it comes to my magical ability." Natsu spoke, barely taking a single glance at the girl before turning back to the rest of the group.

Hearing her own brother talk to her so formally and in such a cold tone really hurt. He spoke to her as if it were the first time that they had ever met, not even acknowledging that they were brother and sister. She knew that she messed their entire relationship up years ago, but now she just wanted another chance to make everything right.

"President, did you have an idea that something like this was going to happen from the beginning? And that's why you suggested a mock battle?" Yukino asked, curious as to if Ultear had known what the outcome would be.

Ultear straightened herself, and turned to her kouhai. She nodded with a look of understanding on her face, before answering the young silver-haired girl vocally.

"No, in the beginning I really hadn't realized! I mean, I knew that Natsu-kun would be able to win somehow, so I thought I'd let him deal with Lyon." Ultear spoke as her eyes drifted to her still sleeping half brother. "Speaking of which...Natsu-kun, will Lyon be waking up anytime soon?"

Natsu walked from the table that had previously been holding his CAD case, and made his way towards the sidelines, where all of the conscious students remained, with Mavis and Chelia following closely behind.

"I greatly reduced the strength of my [Sleep Magic], but it seems like it was still too much for him to handle. I had expected a Course 1 student to be up only a few minutes after being hit with a spell of that strength...it seems that I will have to reconfigure the magnitude of the spell..." Most of the students sweatdropped at his answer. If this was the reduced strength of the spell, the what could the full strength possibly do? "By my calculations, he should probably be up in an hour at the most."

"Alright, let's head back to the Student Council Room then."

Ultear then turned to Yukino and Meredy.

Meredy had been silent for quite a while, but had been listening on in wonder at the conversation and explanations that had been unfolding before her. To hear that her brother was capable of such accomplishments made her heart soar, but then she started to wonder when he exactly became interested in such things. He said that he finished designing that CAD almost four years ago. That meant that he had to have started his studies in magic engineering while he was still living at the Dragneel Compound.

Her heart hurt, knowing that she never took an interest in what he did with the spare time that he had due to rejecting the offer of training from the clan. He always had low practical skills, so that was probably why he never accepted those offers. With how the clan was at the time, he surely would have been discriminated against even further once the clan found out what level his practical skills were really at.

Had things gone a bit differently, then perhaps they would have been able to be together right now...as real siblings instead of complete strangers.

"Yukino-san, Meredy-san? Could I trouble you to help carry Lyon back?" Ultear asked as the other members began move.

The two girls nodded their heads and picked up the unconscious Vice President, each of the girls slinging an arm around their shoulder and dragging him along.

* * *

After placing his CAD case back into the work room, Natsu returned to the Student Council Room, where Erza immediately grabbed his wrist.

Mavis, who was being tutored by Chelia near the terminal on the wall, raised an eyebrow at this, while Natsu could only convey with is eyes that this couldn't be helped...Although, as to whether or not she understood this, Natsu did not know.

He forcibly suppressed his reaction to throw Erza off of him and to take the opportunity of her off-balanced state to gain control of the situation by pinning her to a wall and snapping her neck. At times, it was difficult to completely suppress his instincts that he developed over years of warfare and combat. Though for Erza to be able to capture her target in such a narrow window of time, her physical abilities must be quite impressive as well.

"While a lot of unexpected events brought us off track of our task, let's continue with our original plan and head to the Public Morals Committee Headquarters!" As if not caring about Natsu's mental distress that was the jealousy of his little sister, Erza dragged him away by the arm.

Mavis finally noticed Natsu's confused expression, and redirected her gaze back to the terminal. Albeit, with great difficulty.

Yukino and Meredy were also being brought up to speed with the duties that they would be responsible for and being taught how to input the data into the terminals for the purposes of the Student Council. Chelia was the one teaching the three new members of the Student Council how to preform these duties. Ultear was sitting behind her desk smiling at how the new recruits were already fitting in. And lastly, Lyon was still sleeping soundly while being propped up against one of the chairs at the main table.

Seeing as how his presence was no longer required here, Natsu easily freed his wrist from Erza's grasp and followed her through the door that they had been trying to enter earlier.

In regards to Natsu, who was right on her heels through the door into the headquarters, Erza pointed towards the chairs next to the table and motioned for him to sit so that she could explain to him how things would work out and what his duties would be.

"It's a little bit of a mess. Sorry about that."

Books, portable terminals, and even CADs, all sorts of items covered the table. It was clear that no one had bothered to clean this place in ages. It resembled the kinds of messes that would be in college fraternity houses earlier in the century. Natsu had expected the Public Morals Committee to have to fill out a lot of paperwork regarding the incidents that occurred and who the students involved were. This place was clearly not suitable for such a task.

"The Public Moral Committee Room is like a bachelor's home. Even though I've told them to pick up after themselves time and time again, none of them listens..." Erza's complaints were more to herself than to Natsu.

"It can't be helped if no one is around."

Not knowing if Natsu's comment was out of mockery or comfort, Erza wrinkled her eyebrows upon hearing this.

"...Our primary function is patrolling the school grounds and keeping the students out of harm's way. Other than to receive their orders and schedule, not many of the members spend much time here. The state of affairs within the HQ couldn't be avoided."

Presently, there were only two people in the room. The Public Morals Committee consisted of nine members, but the space within the room could accommodate a group of people several times greater than the current roster. Within this space, the idle atmosphere and cluttered items only served to increase the sense of uncleanliness. Perhaps if someone bothered to clean up the place, the members would be spending more time here.

"Even with all the paperwork that you have to file away?" Natsu asked rhetorically, he already knew the answer to such a question.

Erza's face noticeably paled t the mention of paperwork. It was clearly something that the current roster of the Public Morals Committee did not specialize in. With an atmosphere such as this one, Natsu would be surprised if he could even find the files of the incidents that had broken out last semester.

"You do know that even if the main objective of this committee is to patrol the school grounds and ensure the safety of students, keeping records of the incidents that do occur is just as important, right?" Natsu asked to the redhead, who obviously had serious paper and mechanical allergies.

Erza's face regained her natural color as she thought seriously about what Natsu had said.

"You're absolutely right. The Public Morals Committee acts as the police force for First High School, but even law enforcement has to file paperwork...It's something this committee has been neglecting for several years now, starting with my predecessor's time here, and it could cause serious problems for the entire committee along with the Student Council dow the road...It'd probably be best to start requiring reports to be submitted through the terminals after every incident." Erza decided after thinking of why they had never filled out any incident reports.

What drew Natsu's attention, aside from the obvious messiness of the room, were the cluttered objects on the table.

"Even so, Chief, would it be okay if I tidied up a bit?"

"Huh...?" At Natsu's sudden proposal, Erza was caught a bit off guard. Surprise was well within a senpai's acting repertoire.

"As someone aiming to be a magic engineer, I can't stand it when I see CADs scattered around like this. I have the same stance toward abandoned or disabled terminals." Natsu had noticed quite a few CADs that were being unused lying around on the table as if they were nothing more than discarded trash. Just because they were older models did not mean that they were any less useful to magicians.

There were not many magicians who understood the true worth of a CAD. Modern day magicians relied solely on CADs, as well as some magicians who wielded ancient magic. To them, CADs were indispensable, and yet they were taken for granted. Natsu could still remember the faces of all the magicians who had died by his hand because their CAD was no longer functional, without CADs most magicians were no different than an ordinary civilian.

Natsu truly knew how valuable CADs were because of his skill with magic engineering, as well as him being a superpower. Superpowers were able to view CADs with an objective view since they did not require their use. They didn't see them as an everyday item, but as a weakness. They were a weakness because the vast majority of the population of magicians could not cast their spells without the use of a CAD.

Natsu could be classified as the ultimate anti-mage if he revealed his powers to the world. Technology had been advanced by leaps and bounds ever since magic was militarized, but in the end it was still technology that relied on electrical signals and commands. For Natsu, whose favorite area of [Calamity] was lightning, which he had mastered beyond human comprehension, he could overload or short-out any CAD that he so pleased, whether it was remotely or by touch. Therefore, modern magicians were a bad match up against him.

Though, he preferred not to bring too much attention to this method since if found out, scientists and militaries would do anything they could to find a countermeasure for it. And while Natsu could find a way around anything they came up with, he preferred not to have to deal with the hassle and save this particular method of combat for emergencies only.

"Aiming to be a magic engineer? Even with that level of anti-personnel combat capability?" At Natsu's words, Erza earnestly tilted her head a bit. From the recent match, despite the how brief it was, the level of anti-personnel combat was superb.

"The ranking of magicians in this country isn't too different from how students are ranked in this school. No matter how hard I try, or how skilled I am, with my magical abilities, I can't hope for any more than a C-Rank License."

Of course, this didn't exactly apply to him since he was already a member of the Ten Wizard Saints, but she didn't need to know that.

In most countries, magicians operated under the licensing system. The system was based on international standards, from which Japan was not an exception. It doesn't matter if magicians work for corporations, the government, or even open a private practice, the difficulty and need both reflect upon the level of licensure. Magicians with higher ranked licenses receive a higher level of compensation; this is the rule of society.

International licenses have five levels between between A and E.

Selection and ranking are based on magic sequence design and usage speeds, scale, and interference strength, which are the exact same scales used in high school technical skills testing. In other words, the educational technical skills grading scale was designed to naturally lead into international licensing standards.

There is a separate, special set of standards for law enforcement and the military, but at the end of the day, those standards are for 'law enforcement' or 'military types', and not designed to measure magicians.

"...So, it's okay if I clean up this area?" Natsu asked, not wanting to get into too much detail about the licensing system of Japan.

"Ah? Hm, I'll help too since the committee will be using this room more. We can talk while we work." Erza hurriedly stood up, probably because she was the type that naturally looked after other people. Or maybe it was because just sitting there watching Natsu toil away at the piles of books was simply rude.

While both of them worked at similar speeds, when compared to the empty space in front of Natsu, the pile in front of Erza did not decrease in size and the surface of the table still wasn't visible.

Natsu glanced over at Erza and let out a small sigh

Erza stopped her hands in a clear sign of surrender. "Sorry, I'm not really used to this kind of work."

 _'She's probably the reason this room is in such a state to begin with.'_ Natsu thought inwardly.

"In terms of why we scouted you, actually I think we went over this earlier." Erza spoke, getting to the main topic of why he was here, while putting her finger onto her chun as if trying to remember. "Ah, it is to properly adjudicate cases of improper magic usage, and to improve the perception of Course 2 students...I'd hoped for this to be a step in the right direction with decreasing the amount of animosity between the two courses."

"I remember, but I think that this tactic may cause some considerable backlash...though I don't mind, it could prove to be more interesting this way."

Natsu had just finished cleaning off the last remaining items on the table and placed them in a box for storage. Just having the main table completely cleared off made the room much more appealing and created far more workspace. Now that he thought about it, this room was the same size as the Student Council's, but the excess amounts of clutter had taken up most of the space, making it seem much smaller.

"You're an odd one you know that?" Erza asked rhetorically with a small smile. "Though, why do you think there'll be some kind of backlash?"

Nastu left his seat and began searching through the cabinets on the walls. After finally finding an empty one, he slowly began placing the unused CADs and terminals that he had just cleaned up into it.

"Even as a Public Morals Committee Member and fellow Course 2 student, I am still only a first year. I'm sure that second and third years won't take too kindly to being policed by someone in the situation who is younger than them." Natsu spoke as he continued to store the CADs and terminals away.

"But it'll be a welcoming reaction from the newly enrolled first years." Erza commented as she leaned up against the table.

"From what I've noticed, quite a few of the newly enrolled first course students have already been exposed to the common way of thinking and have become prejudiced. As for the first year Course 2 students, it may make it seem like everyone is against them and that even their own kind will turn on them if given the chance." Natsu turned around to face Erza, as he had finished up with the entire room's cleaning. "In this scenario, resentment is likely to be inevitable."

"Oh...? Do you plan on backing out because of this?"

There was no need to even ask. If Erza had gotten Natsu's character right, then he would take some kind of enjoyment in being the target of all the animosity. He really was a strange one.

"I think I won't withdraw now..." Natsu gave the girl a dark smirk. "Being the target of everyone's resentment, having a target painted on my back, apprehending a lot of those egotistical, entitled punks...this is sure to cause some kind of uproar, sounds like fun. I'm in."

Erza's face once more revealed her delighted smirk. Her devilish expression seemed to have increased her beauty even further.

"Senpai seems to be the type of person who enjoys causing chaos as well."

"Welcome to the Public Morals Committee. I think we'll be getting along quite well, Natsu-kun."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Had someone else been present in the room, they would have been able to see the dark and malevolent emanating from two. These were two people that should never even be allowed to be present in the same room at the same time. If they were, chaos and insanity were sure to follow.

It seems as though this would be one hectic school year if these two would be working on the same committee.

* * *

"...This is the Public Moral Committee's headquarters, right?"

That was Ultear's first question after descending down the stairs from the Student Council Room.

"That was quite the unexpected greeting." Erza deadpanned at Ultear's faked confusion.

"What, this is all because of you Erza. No matter how many times Mira-chan reminded you or A-chan begged you, you had never even bothered to clean up the place. Or at the very least have the other members of the committee do it for you."

"I object to you hurtful and inaccurate description of the situation, Ultear, especially in front of my newly recruited Kouhai! It's not that I never bothered to clean it up, but that I hadn't had the opportunity to start until now!" Was Erza's far too enthusiastic reply.

These two were truly too much for Natsu to handle, so he didn't even bother to rectify that with a response.

"As a woman, you should pay more attention to these kinds of things." Was Ultear's completely outdated retort. The era were women were the ones who took care of housework and cleaning had long since passed. Most of those menial tasks were left up to Home Automated Robots, or HARs for short. In a time period where people were so relient on technology, it was not uncommon for both men and women to not know how to cook or clean for themselves.

Ultear narrowed her eyes as she squinted at Erza, who hurriedly turned around.

Upon seeing Natsu busily examining a terminal's internal condition after removing the protective cover, Ultear displayed an expression of understanding as she nodded her head.

"Ah, so it's because Natsu-kun understands the importance of keeping a clean work environment. It is not so unexpected when you take into account his history of magic engineering."

"He was surprisingly persuasive in his argument for a clean work space. Something that I cannot say for either you, Mira, or Chelia." Erza's back was still facing Ultear as she replied, just as Natsu closed the protective cover on the terminal and turned around.

The room had not possessed a working terminal before he entered the room. All of the terminal were damaged beyond repair from having so much weight on top of them or being mishandled, were completely outdated and did not have the necessary updates and data, or were missing parts for who knows what reason.

"Chief, the inspections are complete. I've finished replacing the damaged parts, so there shouldn't be anymore problems." Natsu finally turned towards Erza and Ultear as he spoke.

"Eh...So you address Erza as Chief, which means we have successfully recruited you."

"I had no intentions of refusing in the first place...and even if I did, you probably wouldn't have accepted my refusal." Natsu didn't even look up at Ultear's teasing expression, and deadpanned in response.

Ultear looked like she disapproved of Natsu's attitude. She placed one hand on her hip, raised the other forefinger, directing her most displeased gaze towards him as she was about to unleash her most exaggerated attitude to voice her objection.

"Natsu-kun, isn't your response to your Onee-chan simply too rude."

...In short, the way Natsu framed his response was because he didn't have an older sister. At least, not one that he actually considered a sister. Meredy would not have mentioned their relationship judging from her earlier attitude. He could tell that she wanted to somehow make everything right again so that they could be family, but that was simply not a feasible option anymore. If she was going to reveal their prior relationship, she would have done so by now. Natsu felt that Ultear was teasing him once again, but in a completely different tone and way from before. If he said any of this, Natsu was sure that the situation would only grow worse, so he did not verbalize it.

No matter where it started or where it ended, it was so archetypal that no real response was possible.

If anything, Ultear's attitude with him was quite different than with the other freshmen girls. He had entered this type of situation with similar impressions in the past, and managed to sidestep the issue every time. This time however, Natsu somehow felt that he was unable to do so.

"Ultear-senpai, just in case, I ant to clarify one thing with you" Natsu asked as he looked up into Ultear's crimson eyes.

"Hm, what is it?"

"We met for the first time just before the enrollment ceremony right?" She acted far too familiar with him for that to have been a first meeting. Though many customs in Japan had changed, including the one where it was assumed that all Japanese were highly polite, normally people don't act so casual after only knowing a person for three days.

It goes without saying that meeting for the first time might constitute an overly familiar attitude, not to mention all the additional meanings behind those words, as Ultear's eyes widened upon hearing them. However, they quickly reverted to their normal size and narrowed even more, to the point that her expression could only be described as 'wicked'. Her face mirrored Erza's devilish expression from earlier, only much more evil.

Natsu finally realized what a terrible move he made, oh how he knew Ultear would certainly capitalize on it.

"Is this how it is...Ho ho ho ho ho." That fake laughter sent shivers down Natsu's spine.

He was beginning to understand why Gray had been so terrified of her and referred to her as the devil, as tiny devil would have been the perfect appropriate description for that smiling face.

"Natsu-kun thinks that we've met before, right? And that the day of the enrollment ceremony must have been our fateful reunion!"

Exactly why was the tension in the room rising so quickly as Ultear continued to speak?

"A long time ago we might have met once, then thrust apart by cruel fate, only to be untied by destiny once more!"

If she was reveling in those words, she would be a dangerous person. But if she was acting this entire sequence out while purposefully allowing everyone else to know she was acting, there was something terribly wrong with that kind of personality.

"...Unfortunately, that was undoubtedly of first meeting." With those words, she came crashing back down to reality.

Erza had slowly been backing away from the scene the entire time, allowing Ultear to play this out however it was she pleased. Erza knew better than to get involved with Ultear when she let her real personality show, the victim during that time usually never got out of it without a few mental scars to prove their bravery.

"...I thought so too." Was Natsu's bland response to Ultear's acting. He really didn't have the words to describe what just played out before him.

"Unless you really did get those fateful meeting vibes."

Ultear clasped her hands in front of her chest and pressed her face closer towards Natsu. She looked very excited, but in reality she was just fooling around. This suited her quite well...Truly, a terrible personality.

"...Sorry, why are you so happy about this?" Even if he used a question to answer a question, he knew he wouldn't receive an answer.

The only answer he received was a gaze filled with expectations.

"...If this is destiny, then it definitely isn't fate, more like doom now that I think about it." Was Natsu's just as evil reply.

Though, while he did hear Erza stifle her laughter, perhaps it wasn't the best response, as his reply caused Ultear's face to darken as she turned around. "Is that so...?" A lonely muttering made its was into Natsu's ears.

Dark clouds of depression gathered above her head as she wallowed in a pit of despair while crouched down in a corner of the room.

Even though his response was based on the estimation that Ultear was teasing him the entire time, if there was a shade of sincerity in them then he should probably try to cheer her up. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty as he felt the despair and loneliness rolling off of her body. Seriously, why was this girl able to effect him so much.

Though, there was no way to tell if it was good luck or bad luck, but the sense of guilt didn't linger for too long. That was probably due to confusion, given the circumstances.

"...Tch." As her shoulder slumped slightly, Ultear's lips released a sound that could only mean a sense of defeat.

It was Natsu's turn for his eyes to widen.

It was only a small sound to be sure, and not graceful in any way, but was just loud enough for his enhanced hearing to pick up.

"Um, Ultear-senpai?"

"Hm, what is it?" Ultear turned around and faced Natsu, with an elegant smile that would have charmed any male student within the school.

"...Why do I feel like I understand you a little better now, Senpai?" Natsu asked with a sigh. He felt mentally exhausted, truly this woman was a piece of work...though she did make things interesting. Natsu felt that he had caught a glimpse of Ultear's real face behind the mask.

And that wicked, little smiling face just loved to tease and torture others.

"It's about time to stop the jokes. Natsu-kun, too much leisure time can be a bad thing." It seemed that Ultear was acting entirely guiltless and this whole situation was his fault.

"You can't use the same tricks that you use to tease the rest of the boys, Ultear. Your appearance won't work on him." Erza took this opportunity to throw in her own two cents.

"Don't describe others in such an evil manner, Erza. You make it sound as if I enjoy messing with the underclassmen." Ultear pouted slightly, unable to completely ignore Erza's earlier remark.

"...What just happened...?"

Natsu deeply regretted opening his mouth without prior consideration, and tried to smooth things over once more. If he stayed too long in the miasma spread by others, it would undoubtedly give him more headaches. Why did women have to be so damned confusing?

"Ah, the difference in Ultear's attitude is because she's already acknowledged you, Natsu-kun. She probably considers the two of you to be quite alike in some areas. In other words, she's playing coy. She only lets a few people every now and then see that side of her." At Erza's oddly solemn expression, Natsu felt a sense of unease.

"Don't believe what Erza says, Natsu-kun. But, I guess I do acknowledge you. It feels like I can't deal with you the same way I treat others. Maybe the one touched by fate was me?"

Hearing this, and seeing Ultear's smiling face that no sane man could hate, Natsu felt that his internal peace had been completely disrupted.

It seemed this was becoming a regular occurrence.

This school really was something else, he was surprised that most people in the school were still sane after having to deal with women like this on an everyday basis. It was times like this where he missed the battlefields and war-zones.

Though for some odd reason, he was smiling.

It seemed that everyday was different and exciting, Natsu supposed that he could really grow to love this place.

* * *

The reason that Ultear came to visit was actually to let them know that the Student Council Room was closing early today since they had finished briefing the newly recruited freshmen and Lyon had finally woken up. She was only supposed to check on Natsu in passing, but that had quickly become her primary objective not long after entering the Public Moral Committee HQ.

Since the end of the enrollment ceremony, many different action items had also come up. "Then, I'm going on ahead." After giving one last wave, Ultear ascended back up the stairs, towards the Student Council Room.

Tomorrow marked the start of club recruitment week. This was where the clubs were open to the newly enrolled students, and the various clubs competed for their recruitment. Class time was allotted for the freshmen to tour the clubs and hopefully choose one to join, if they were not already part of a committee. This kind of event was bound to be hectic and there would eventually be problems since club members were allowed to carry CADs during their demonstrations to help draw in new members, since many of the club activities revolved around the usage of magic. This meant that the Public Morals Committee would be very much involved in patrolling and policing the campus during this week.

That topic is where his conversation with Ultear and Erza had ended. It seemed he picked an unfortunate time to join the Public Morals Committee...On second thought, there would no doubt be some kind of incident involving him tomorrow or the rest of the week. This meant he would get quite a lot of opportunities to apprehend Course 1 students who were breaking school regulations. This kind of situation just spelled disaster and chaos, it was bound to be entertaining.

Natsu and Erza were just finishing up for the day in the headquarters, when two male students took this opportunity to enter the room.

"Good Afternoon!"

"Oi, Nee-san, we're coming in!"

 _'Did someone really just announce themselves like that?"_ Natsu thought to himself with a sigh.

It seemed this school was severely lacking in normal students. Though he did have to admit that Erza would make the perfect older sister character. Charming, beautiful, strict, there was no doubt she had made appearances in many of the older sister fantasies that the male students had. Times had changed, but one thing that would always remain the same was the perverted tendencies of teenage boys and men. Especially when concerning high school girls.

The person in question was a slim young man of average height with orange hair that was kept jutting backwards at the sides of his head. He had a sharp, angular face, a prominent, flat and defined nose, pointing downwards, and distinctive teeth, with a protruding, sharp, triangular-shaped upper molar complemented by a chipped portion on the bottom row, something that allows him to close his teeth completely despite this deformity.

Natsu glanced over at Erza, who appeared slightly irritated at how them male student had addressed her. There was no possible way that they were related, so he must have been referring to her as such casually. The fact that she retained at least some sense of normalcy brought quite a bit of relief to Natsu.

"Chief, we've finished todays patrol! No arrests to report!"

The person who had a much more normal manner of speaking, was a tall, slim young man with short black hair. He had a pair of dark eyes, along with a set of black eyebrows. His rectangular-shaped face sported sharp features, with very prominent cheekbones.

Both of these students wore the normal First High School uniform with the eight-petalled flower emblem on the left side of their chest and on both of their shoulders. Though they seemed far more laid back than the typical Course 1 students.

"...Nee-san, you finally cleaned the room like all of us have been suggesting you do?!"

It seemed that the previous condition of the room was indeed Erza's fault. Natsu had suspected as much, so he merely gave Erza a blank stare which she returned with a sheepish expression.

Though she brought herself back on topic after a moment, as she got up from her seat on the table smacked the boy on the head with a rolled up notebook. Where exactly had she picked that up from? Natsu was sure that he had cleaned out the entire room.

"How many times have I told you not to call me Nee-san?! Jet, is your brain only a decoration?!" Erza voiced her displeasure as she continued to smack Jet over the head.

"Please don't hit me on the head, Nee...No, Chief. Speaking of which, who's this? The rookie?" Jet asked as he covered his head to protect himself from Erza. It probably didn't hurt very much, despite Jet's cries for mercy, but he probably knew better than to fight back against a displeased woman.

In front of Jet, who had gone rigid with nervousness, Erza lowered the rolled up notebook and sighed.

"...It's just as you said, he's the rookie. First Year Class E, Natsu Vermillion. Recommended by the Student Council."

"Hm, a Course 2 student...? How interesting."

Jet was excitedly examining Natsu's coat as well as checking out his build. The Student Council wouldn't just recommend any Course 2 student for a position on the Public Morals Committee, knowing just what their duties entailed.

"Can he handle the job?" This time it was the taller student with black hair who asked, while not trying to act superior in any way, he was still curious as to why the Student Council had specifically recommended this Course 2 student. Normally the more remarkable students were from Course 1 and were designated as such because of that.

"You should never underestimate a person based on what someone else ranked their strength to be. Lyon thought the exact same way and just got his ass handed to him on a silver platter." As Erza said this with a teasing smile on her face, the two boys' faces became grave.

"...You mean..."

"...This guy just defeated Lyon?"

The two on them were so surprised that they didn't even notice that they completed each others' sentences.

"In a formal match as well, with the entire Student Council as the witness. The entire match lasted less than two seconds. I wouldn't be surprised if there were one or two more Course 2 students that were only given their designation due to special circumstances." Erza sat back down on the table as she gave Natsu a smirk.

It was highly unlikely for someone to be on the same level as him in the Course 2 curriculum, but it would be foolish for Natsu to say that there were no students with potential to become incredible magicians there. He already knew that Wendy and Gray were highly skilled in their own right and would no doubt be moved to Course 1 after this year. A magicians potential wasn't solely based on magic power and invocation speed.

"Surprised?" Erza asked as she looked at Natsu.

"About what exactly?" The question too vague to tell what was being asked, but the question seemed more rhetorical to him than anything.

"This school is filled with people immersed in the idea that labeling people either a Bloom or a Weed determines superiority. To be honest, I hate that kind of attitude, so I'm pleased with the outcome of today's match. Thankfully, Ultear and Laxus understand this as well and know my personality. That's why the members recommended by the Student Council and the Club Management Group aren't people brainwashed or influenced by this kind of thinking. While I can't say that there's no sense of superiority here, we're all people who can objectively evaluate another person's skills." It seemed that Erza was rather proud that most of the members of this committee were the minority of the Course 1 students.

"Hm, and what about the students recommended by the faculty?" Natsu asked after remembering that the Student Council and Club Management Group were only two of the committees that selected students for the Public Morals Committee.

"Ah, yes. Unfortunately, the three students recommended by the teachers are mostly from the former category as they are selected based upon grades, magic ability, and reputation. Lisanna Strauss, who I assume you're familiar with, was of that category. But since she was involved in such a serious incident only a day after the semester started, I had the right to revoke her nomination. We only needed to fill one spot on the roster this semester, and you're it."

"Sounds to me like you've been working against this whole Bloom/Weed system for some time now." Natsu commented with a knowing smirk, to which he received the same smirk back.

"I despise discrimination, and I hope to at least make it so that newly enrolled student aren't influenced by those beliefs by the time I graduate here from First High School. That being said, I think you'll fit in quite nicely here." Erza crossed her arms, giving the signal for the two other students to introduce themselves.

Natsu shifted his gaze from scarlet-haired woman over two the two older Morals Committee members.

"2nd Year Class C, Sarusuke Jet. Welcome aboard Vermillion. If you've got the skills, you're fine in my book."

"2nd Year Class D, Sawaki Droy. Welcome to the Public Morals Committee."

Jet and Droy each reached out a hand. Just as Erza had said, there wasn't a hint of insult in their expression, actually they came off as rather friendly. Their earlier evaluations of him were merely to see if he had any skill and knew what he was getting into. Whether he was a Course 1 or Course 2 student, it made no difference to them.

He had to admit, this place didn't have a bad atmosphere to it.

"1st Year Class E, Natsu Vermillion. Just call me Natsu if you like."

He returned their greeting and shook both their hands.

He would get along just fine here.

* * *

 **Chapter End**

 _Natsu may seem kind of emotionless and Gary Stu-ish at the moment, but I assure you that he will begin to open up to people as the story progresses. He will be different from how both Natsu and Tatsuya are in cannon. So if you are not a fan of how he had been portrayed so far, fear not; he will start to feel more human as he interacts with the student council and other characters. Remember, he has been a soldier for most of his life and has had limited social interactions as a person his age should._

 _On another note, I can only label this as two genres on this site (Family/Adventure), but magic, romance, school, friendship, sci-fi, supernatural, and action are also major genres that this story will focus on._

 _There will be more action than there was in Mahouka, but less than there is in Fairy Tail._

 _These past four chapters have been similar to the light novel, but I wanted to get the basic premise, setting, technological terms and uses, ect...all included earlier on. I will not be doing the rest of the enrollment arc, but I will include some of which goes on during club week. It will be completely different from what Mahouka did with it in cannon. Things will be much different from here on out and included a lot more of Fairy Tail's aspects._


	5. The Fifth Wizard Saint

Chapter 5: The Fifth Wizard Saint

 _ **Please make sure to read the author's note down at the bottom of the chapter. It has a very important announcement.**_

* * *

Disclaimer: I own neither Fairy Tail nor Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei.

* * *

 **Modern Age: The Fifth Wizard Saint**

Natsu let out a sigh of relief as he finally stepped out of the stuffy room he had been stuck in for the past few hours. The gatherings of the Ten Wizard Saints were always dreadfully boring, though they were necessary as most of the times they were called important issues and facts were always discussed. This time it had been to introduce the new members of the Magic Council to the Wizard Saints.

A majority of the former council had been killed by the attack on the Magic Council during the whole incident with Jellal, so the Emperor found those who could fill the hole that they left. The chairman had also been forced to resign as it was the chairman's duty to take responsibility for all incidents involving the council. That meant that if there was a high death toll due to the inadequacy of security and lack of countermeasures for such a situation, then they would have to take responsibility as that as well.

The new chairman went by the name of Gran Doma. Natsu could already tell that he and the man would never see eye to eye from just a single meeting. Gran Doma was a stern and serious man who did not tolerate breaking the law with a by the book mentality of justice and procedure. Those kind of things were fine normally, but there were some things that could only be done by going around the law. The law cannot be the end all be all of the world, that much Natsu had learned during his early years as a child soldier.

They had also discussed who would be able to fulfill the empty position in the Wizard Saints that Jellal had left. One of the Gods of Ishgar had been briefly mentioned, but Natsu hadn't cared enough to pay attention. Though he was aware that they were still at an indecision of who to appoint to the position. Outside of the Gods of Ishgar, there were not many magicians who could even match the level of the weakest Wizard Saint years ago—the current being the strongest generation of the Wizard Saints after all—and those that could were disqualified due to their involvement with clans.

The clan that he had originally been born into—the Dragneel clan—had been mentioned several times, along with his older sister, Ikaruga. It seemed that they still had some of the strongest mages of the country within their grasp. There had even been talk of overlooking the condition that the magician couldn't be involved with the noble clans, though it hadn't gotten anywhere as of yet.

Natsu though, couldn't bring himself to care about such mundane topics. He didn't plan on being a Wizard Saint forever, in fact he planned to step down from the title after he graduated from high school. The only reason he even accepted the position was because of their tremendous salaries. His yearly salary for being a Wizard Saint easily outweighed all those years he had worked as a child soldier. With that kind of money, he and Mavis could live luxuriously for the rest of their lives and then some. There was also the fact that Mavis was always so proud of him for being named one of the ten strongest magicians in the country.

Eventually though, after much discussion, they had all been released from the meeting and had been told they would receive their usual assignments at a later date. The Wizard Saints did not gather often, besides the incident regarding Jellal, this had been the first time all of the Wizard Saints were together in over a year; though a majority of them had only been present via [Thought Projection]. If Natsu was capable of such a magic, he would have done the same.

These meetings really were too boring. He had even noticed that Gildarts had fallen asleep on the desk for a short period of time.

At least they had gotten over the fact that he would never wear his cloak. White was never his color and something as flashy as the Wizard Saints cloak never really suited him.

"Ah, I'm glad to finally be out of there. Those damn meetings always take forever." Natsu stretched his arms out before running a hand through his, currently, black hair.

"I would have assume that someone as secretive and mysterious as you, Havoc-kun, would have used a [Thought Projection], like what most everyone else did." The voice of Minerva Orlando spoke up from behind him as she exited the building.

Ah yes, he had forgotten that one other member was actually here in person. Normally he wouldn't have let something as obvious as that slip his mind, but that meeting had killed most of his brain cells. Those old geezers in the council really liked to run their mouths and get off topic. He couldn't give a damn about their war stories, he had fought in a few wars himself and he certainly had far more interesting tales. Whether it be the former or the newer members, the council would always be a pain.

"I forgot that you were here Minerva." Natsu turned around to face the rather beautiful woman. "I suppose that I had gotten a bit bored and decided to get some fresh air."

"No need to be so suspicious of me. I'm merely trying to make some conversation until we reach Era's gates." Era was a special city in regards to the fact that the use of magic was prohibited. Not only was it prohibited, but through unknown means it is physically impossible to invoke magic within the city's boundaries. Magics such as [Thought Projection] were a little different since it was not being invoked within the city limits, but from a remote location. "As usual you didn't say much during the meeting, but who do you think will fill the position of the tenth Wizard Saint?"

Jellal had previously held the position of the sixth Wizard Saint. Natsu currently held the position of fifth Wizard Saint, though that was mainly because he was the most recent addition to the Wizard Saints, save Minerva. He didn't bother trying to rise any higher than the fifth position simply because there was no point to do so. He planned to retire from the magical community in a few years and would hand the title back to the council, perhaps maybe become a magical engineer. In simple terms, he was content with his position.

Minerva on the other hand currently held the position of the eighth Wizard Saint with only Brain below her. She had previously held the position of ninth, but Jellal's defection and subsequent death had bumped all those below him up a single ranking. She along with Havoc were the youngest of the current generation of Wizard Saints by far, so it was expected that they would rise even higher as the years went by. Though, Minerva had far more drive to rise in rank than Natsu did.

Natsu glanced over at the woman beside him, a small smile gracing her lips, before turning his gaze back towards the street they were walking down. "There's nobody worth mentioning that comes to mind...I imagine that the council will revoke the requirement that Wizard Saints are prohibited from being members of the noble clans though, which will open up an entire new world of opportunities for the position. I'm sure each of the clans would jump at the chance to have their strongest magician represent their clan as one of the strongest mages in the country."

"Oh, you think so too huh?" Minerva asked, her interest piqued. The man before her was such an interesting case. He was younger than her, that much she was sure of, yet he had risen through the ranks far faster than thought possible; but what interested her the most was that he always seemed to know what was going through the heads of the councilors, even if it was one of their more controversial decisions that no one would have expected. "But if I may, what makes you think so?"

"I've fought against the best of the current generation of magicians back when I was a child soldier, I saw the rest when I was part of the Garou Knights and was tasked with escorting Hisui-hime to the Nine Schools Competition." Natsu replied as they turned another corner, the gates of Era now visible, though still far in the distance. "I haven't always been as strong as I am now...but even so, I have never been beaten by a Japanese magician, even with the Independent Magic-Equipped Battalion after my head throughout my childhood."

Minerva's eyes widened in surprise. Sure the escapades of Havoc were known quite well throughout the magical community, though not many knew which were true and which were simply urban legend. Even so, to say that he had never been defeated by a magician of Japanese descent was incredulous at best. Japan possessed some of the finest magicians in the world. Even if they were not of the caliber necessary to be called a Wizard Saint, it was unfathomable for such powerful mages to be overwhelmed by a child.

"Now seeing as I hold the fifth seat amongst the Wizard Saints, that may not be giving them the credit they deserve...but we are both Wizard Saints and if these magicians can't even give us a challenge, then they aren't deserving of the title."

Minerva shrugged, knowing that it wasn't easy to gain his respect. "Well I suppose you're right. Besides, the reason the council is in such a panic to find a new Wizard Saint is because the world is finally starting to move again...Things have been too quiet ever since the Defense Battle of Okinawa, or Crying Heavens Incident as it is better known, which you caused might I add...but now things are finally picking up."

Natsu had felt it too. That Jellal was only the trigger for events to come. When things started to pick up in the world, it was never good. Mainly because they usually revolved around Zeref or another country getting involved in Japan's affairs. Either way, both were bound to have a lot of casualties.

"...well, it looks like things are finally going to get interesting around here." Natsu sighed as they finally reached Era's gates. It was time for him and Minerva to part ways, though that was not to say that he wasn't enjoying having a conversation with someone who was aware of the line of work he was involved in. Natsu did enjoy the time he spent with those at his school, but they could never imagine the things he had done or seen. They would never be able to comprehend just what kind of life he had led in the past...It was refreshing to converse with someone who he didn't have to hide his nature from.

"Looks like it's time for me to take my leave." Minerva was the first to speak up as she created one of her portals after they had passed through the gates and were able to use their magic once again. "See you in a few days partner, we'll be hunting for Deliora together."

With those parting words, Minerva stepped through her portal with it closing up right behind her.

Just what he would expect from the daughter of a councilor, she was already aware of the assignments that they would receive next. Though what worried him was the small bit of information he knew regarding the etherious from Zeref's books. The last person reported to have been seen with Deliora—the demon who rampaged across Japan over eighty years ago in the southern-most part of Japan—was Silver Fullbuster, the former head of the Milkovich clan.

* * *

There are many specialties in the High School Magic Division, but the basic system is almost identical to normal high schools. Club activities are an important part of the magic high schools. In addition to attending a school that is renowned for their teachings of magic and producing highly capable magicians, the magic high schools offer clubs that prepare their students for whatever path they wish to take after their graduation.

Like normal high schools, to become an official club, you need to have a minimum amount of people and have some kind of track record. But since First High School—along with the other magic high schools—has a close relationship with magic, there are some clubs that can only exist within the structure of a magic high school. There exists a nationwide annual magic competition for the nine National Magic University Affiliated High schools known as the Nine Schools Competition, and it is one of the largest magic-related events in all of Japan. If a club, or its members, were to perform highly within the tournament, then the club's budget and its members receive a certain amount of special treatment.

Finding and getting talented new students has become the most important task every year since it affects the influence the clubs have on campus, and this task has full support from the school. That's why during this season, the clubs battle furiously in order to gain as many new students as possible.

Thankfully, today had been the last day of such an event. Though Natsu had been forced to leave as soon as he submitted his report due to the Wizard Saint's meeting he had just returned from. Had he stayed behind at school, he may have been able to avoid the predicament he was currently in.

"Do we really have to go?" Natsu asked, almost pleading to not have to go to another one of these formal gatherings in a single day.

"Of course! Ultear-senpai invited us over for a celebratory dinner for the outstanding success of club week. I know that you have nothing more important to do tonight, so I accepted for the both of us." Mavis scolded her brother, looking absolutely stunning in such an elegant black kimono.

This had been the sight that Natsu had been greeted with when he walked through the front door. He had always told Mavis that she looked absolutely beautiful in a kimono, and he wasn't lying. He wasn't usually one to show his emotions, but he couldn't help but let a blush creep onto his face as he took another glance at his little sister.

Natsu shook his head and refocused himself in order to adjust the tie of his most formal suit. This was the very suit that he had worn to all those events where he had been forced to escort Hisui-hime to, and according to her, he looked most handsome in it. Usually formal events in Japan required a formal kimono to be worn, but many Kimono's were rather loose fitting and revealed quite a bit of skin. With heavy scarring covering the vast majority of his body, Natsu was more comfortable in a suit rather than a kimono.

"Fine, but do we really need to dress like this? The last time I wore this suit was when I was a member of the Garou Knights, forced to escort Hisui-hime to all those aristocratic events. I get that were heading over to the compound of one of the noble clans of Japan...but is this really necessary?" Natsu asked, motioning to his suit.

"Senpai said she wanted to see how you clean up." Mavis said simply with a slight pout.

Well, at least it wasn't a clan party or one where high-standing political figures would attend. He'd been to his fair share of those over the years. Men and women flirting with each other and socializing with one another for no other reason to increase their political standing or to gain favor with certain individuals. His memories of these types of events were mostly centered around the time he was still a member of the Dragneel clan. Hisui-hime hated those types of gatherings just as much as he did, if not more, so he was rarely exposed to that kind of atmosphere since his days as a child soldier and as a member of his former clan.

Natsu walked over towards the door, but not before patting Mavis on the head reassuringly. "Well, let's get this over with then."

Natsu was about to walk away, but was stopped when he felt Mavis link her arm with his and press her developing bust into it.

"You'll be my date tonight, so make sure you're a gentlemen." Mavis smiled affectionately at her older brother.

"I think I might enjoy myself after all..." Natsu muttered to himself with a small blush before leading the way out the door.

* * *

Contrary to what one would expect, the Milkovich compound was not as luxurious or grandiose as the other compounds of the noble clans of Japan. Actually, it represented a rather large traditional Japanese structure than anything. This is why the Milkovich clan was different from the other noble clans throughout Japan, they didn't flaunt their wealth or boast of their heritage, but they were just as imposing as those who lived in heavily guarded military compounds and focused solely on building up their clan's strength.

Natsu and Mavis casually entered the compound arm in arm. It had only been a few minutes since they had left their house. Judging from the several limousines that were patiently waiting down the street, it was safe to say that several members f the student council had already arrived. That was one of the many perks of being able to travel at the speed of lightning, there was no need for a car nor to wait in traffic.

After a swift journey through the courtyard, Natsu knocked on the front door and waited for someone to answer.

Only a few moments later did the door open, revealing a beautiful woman of average height with a slim, curvaceous figure. She had short dark purple hair that was kept at chin length. She adorned a crimson red kimono with a floral design.

"Ah welcome, you must be friends of my daughter. Please come in, we've been expecting you." The woman said as she gestured for them to enter.

Mavis gave a deep bow in respect before introducing the two of them. "Thank you for your hospitality. I am Mavis Vermillion and this is my older brother, Natsu."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I can't say I've heard much of you from your daughter, but Gray does speak very highly of you." Natsu merely gave a nod of his head to the woman. Despite being the one to teach Mavis everything he knows about respect and formality, he rarely ever practiced his teachings. Though, perhaps that was because there were not many people who could demand the respect of someone of his nature.

Ur giggled in amusement at the realization that this was the boy who had piqued her daughter's interest. "Ah, I forgot to introduce myself, how rude of me. I am Ur Milkovich, the head of the Milkovich clan. You can just call me Ur though, we aren't much for formality around here."

After removing their sandals at the entranceway, Ur guided the two siblings to the dining room where everyone else had gathered; members of the kitchen staff were already bringing large trays of food and setting them down on the dining room table. Sitting around the table were Ultear, Erza, Mirajane, Chelia, Yukino, and Meredy. It seemed that all of the members of the Student Council were present besides Lyon.

"I'll leave you two here, I'm sure you're already comfortable with everyone. I need to make sure the kitchen staff isn't slacking off while I'm not looking." Ur said with a wink before heading off in the direction of the kitchen, leaving the two siblings standing at the entrance to the dining room.

Ultear's eyes immediately lit up upon realizing who had entered the room. "Ah, Natsu-kun, Mavis-chan! Please come in and join us." She exclaimed and motioned for the two to take the two empty seats.

Natsu and Mavis, of course, sat down next to each other. Yukino was seated on the other side of Mavis and, unfortunately, Meredy was on the other side of Natsu. The seating arrangement was almost an exact replica of the one in the Student Council room where they had all met nearly a week ago.

"Lyon and Gray aren't here?" Natsu asked, notcing that once again he was the only male present in the room.

"I'm afraid not, they already had other plans for the night."

Ultear's smile was a little too sweet to believe anything she said, but Natsu chose to disregard that for the time being.

After exchanging pleasantries and a few minutes of idle chatter about nothing specific, Erza finally asked the question that Natsu had no real answer for.

"By the way...Natsu you seemed to be in quite a rush earlier when you left the Public Moral Committee headquarters. You're usually the last person to stay since you wait for Mavis...Is everything okay?"

"Ah yes, I was late for the usual meeting of the Wizard Saints. You know just how adamant the Magic Council can be about punctuality." Natsu answered after a few moments of silence. Mavis stared at her brother with wide eyes at so casually mentioning one of his most closely guarded secrets.

The room went eerily silent for a few moments, though Natsu paid no attention to it as he started in on the food that had been placed at the table. The silence was broken up by the giggling of most of the girls at the table.

Mavis, who had been panicking inwardly, glanced around at each of the girls in confusion.

"Natsu, if you don't want to tell us you don't have to." Erza spoke, stern as ever, though it was easily to catch that she was holding back her laughter.

"Or perhaps come up with a better excuse." Ultear pointed out. "Nobody will ever believe you if you come up with something so farfetched. Though keeping a straight face as you say something like that is a good start."

"What if he snuck out to see his girlfriend who attends another school...Oh, that's so romantic! Dropping everything just to go and see her!" Mirajane gushed, her overly romantic obsession finally showing its head.

Natsu smirked inwardly. Sometimes when you couldn't come up with a believable lie on the spot, it's best to tell the truth. Often times the truth is so farfetched that it'll seem more like a lie or a joke to those asking than an actual lie...or at least in his case it usually is.

He looked over at his little sister's pouting face and gave her a wink. She still had a lot left to learn if she thought that he would hand out the identity that he had worked so hard to create just like that. He didn't even flinch when he felt her stomp on his foot under the table. He even let out a small chuckle as he saw the little bit of red that had crept onto her cheeks from embarrassment.

"Actually, speaking of that did you hear that one of the Jellal Fernandez of the Wizard Saints recently resigned from his position?" Chelia asked with the utmost curiosity. It seemed that she was the overly-excited type. Not just in dealing with CADs, but with anything that had piqued her interest.

Natsu's attention shifted to Chelia as she brought up that article that was in the news a few days ago. Jellal's resignation was the cover story that the coucil had come up with to cover up that incident. To hear that one of the strongest magicians in the continent had committed treason and tried to revive a long-dead wizard using a forbidden form of magic was not something that should reach the eyes of the public.

Meredy put her finger to her chin, as if trying to recall something before answering. "I remember reading something about that...he actually has a brother who runs a temple in this city, where ancient magic is passed down...Maybe something was going on with his family. If I held the position of one of the ten strongest magicians on the continent, I wouldn't hand it in unless it was something like that."

Natsu didn't even glance over at Meredy as she spoke those words. They were a bit hypocritical if you asked him. There was a time when she couldn't have cared less if he lived or died, even after he had saved her life. She may have changed from the person she once was, but it annoyed him to hear her talking about family as if it were the most precious thing in the world to her.

"Imagine how strong you'd have to be to be named one though." Erza pointed out. "There are hundreds of thousands of magicians within Japan. The Wizard Saints are the ones who have been deemed stronger than every other magician on the continent...When I was a little girl, I had dreamed of becoming one of those ten...but now it just seems so impossible."

"Yeah...the probability of one of us ever reaching that high is practically zero...It's a bit discouraging if you think about it too much." Ultear mentioned with a forced smile on her face. "I heard stories that if my mother wasn't a clan head, then she would have been considered for one of those positions...though in the spars we've had, I've never even come close to touching her."

The irony of all this was that one of those very Wizard Saints was sitting there at the table with them. Though, he didn't dare say a word during any of this discussion.

"Well enough about that, how about we start the celebration before the food gets cold?!" Mavis cheered, earning a positive response from the rest of those at the table.

With a sizable portion of food on everyone's plate, most had already started eating. Ultear, however, noticed something that she was curious about.

"Aren't you going to take off that glove Natsu? Actually, now that I think about it, I've never seen you without it on...Is it a good luck charm of some sort?"

Natsu turned his attention from his food to Ultear before glancing down at his glove. "Not quite. My hand was badly burned as a child, so there's a lot of scar tissue showing. It still works fine, but it's quite an unpleasant sight. It would draw for more attention than I would like if I walked around without it on."

This response earned mostly understanding looks. Magic was a dangerous technology and if handled incorrectly, could lead to serious injury. It was not uncommon for accidents to take place for children when learning magic. Though, most that do have accidents tend to turn away from a career in magic due to fear or not being able to fully trust their magic.

Natsu didn't miss the suspicious look sent to him by Meredy, but he chose to ignore it for now in favor of the delicious pile of meat on his plate. It had been a long day and he hadn't eaten since lunch. That Wizard Saints meeting hadn't helped either as even his stomach had been complaining that it was bored.

* * *

"What happened to you Natsu?"

Natsu wasn't surprised to hear Meredy's voice from behind him. The small celebration had gotten a bit wild when Ur had brought out the Sake, claiming that it wasn't a real celebration without a few cups each. Those girls had drank the entire bottle. It didn't help that the majority of them had never had alcohol before either. That's where thing went a little crazy. Natsu had excused himself from the horde of drunk women, doing who knows what, in order to get a little fresh air.

Meredy had been the only one besides himself since she cast [Sensory Link] on him so that she only suffered the same amount of intoxication that Natsu did, and for someone who drank wine on a regular basis, he had quite a bit of tolerance.

"What do you mean? I'm just getting a bit of fresh air?"

"I mean everything! Your personality, the little sister, your last name, your skill! When I first saw you again I thought that you were finally coming back to our family...but it's like you're a completely different person...so I'll ask again. What happened to you?"

Natsu turned around to face Meredy before sighing. "People change over time...though I've been this way for as long as I can remember. The person who you called your brother died a long time ago...I've heard that the clan has changed a great deal since I left...though I can't say that really makes a difference at this point."

"Why...Why did you even leave...?"Meredy asked, her voice becoming more hollow with each passing second.

Natsu didn't even need to think for an answer. Each and every reason for his departure was engraved into his mind as if it were yesterday. "I suppose the final decision came the day of Ikaruga's engagement party...It sickened me to see someone so strong, someone who I admired so much, just throw her life away because the clan thought it would benefit them...I was through with being a puppet in the clan's greater scheme."

"You said it yourself that the clan had changed, so why did you never come back?! Was it because of that girl?!" The venom in Meredy's voice was unmistakable.

"...She was part of the reason, yes. I had met her long before I had even thought about leaving the clan...Make no mistake, she is my only sister...when my own sisters refused to even look at me, she was always there..." Natsu would have continued, but he was interrupted by Meredy.

"I made a mistake! I'll admit that I was a little scared of you after that kidnapping incident...but I was more ashamed than anything! That's why I forced myself into the clan's training so much! I was always praised as the genius of the two of us! The one who had the most pressure put on them! It was expected of me to be the best and one day stand beside Ikaruga-nee!...I was the one who was supposed to protect you!...but I was helpless...I couldn't do anything...all I could do was sit there and wait for someone to save me...It felt like I had failed you..."

Natsu was silent for a minute. He supposed that what she had said made sense in an odd way, but it didn't excuse not so much as speaking to him for two years. She could yell and scream all she wanted, but things were never going back to the way they were.

"...I see...You may have had your reasons for what you did...but I also had my own for leaving. It doesn't matter what happened then at this point. I am who I am because of everything that has happened to me...nothing will change that."

"But—" Meredy tried to argue but she was cut off.

"I am no longer part of your clan, nor your family. You and I are nothing more than classmates. If you want to be friends, whatever. I won't stop you. But understand that no matter how much you try, no matter how much you beg...things will not return to how they used to be."

With those final words said Natsu walked back into the house, leaving behind a teary-eyed Meredy.

* * *

 **Chapter end**

 _Yeah I know, this chapter was subpar compared to my other chapters. I actually felt that I was continuously getting worse as a writer as I wrote this_

 _Announcement:_

 _To everyone that has been following this story from the very beginning, I am sorry to say that I will stop updating this story for an unknown amount of time. I had planned for this story to end at the end of the first year in Mahouka, but these most recent chapters of fairy tail...Fairy Tail has gotten so terrible recently that it has actually gotten painful to read...I am literally pulling my hair out every time a new chapter was updated._

 _It all started when I went back to read the Grand Magic Games arc and got to Minerva and Erza's fight...I hadn't noticed how bullshit the Nakagami armor was until I reread it a few weeks ago...Erza can now bend the laws of magic? Are you serious?...Is Erza now some kind of deity in the FT universe...The friendship power...Erza defeating Kyouka, even though none of her senses were working, simply because she's Erza...Natsu one-shotting gods...the disappointment that was Gray's betrayal (disappointed because it would have been incredible for the story had he actually fallen to revenge)...the whole Fairy Tail disbandment being a huge disappointment...Natsu having absolutely no character growth/development even though his father died and now he has no goal...the disappointment that was AVATAR...suddenly everyone knowing about Lumen Histoire...A team of five or so people going to a kingdom of over 700 guilds to go and rescue Makorov...Natsu and his latest shenanigans._

 _It's all just too much. I just can't do it anymore. I have sworn off everything that is Fairy Tail for the time being just so I'm not waiting for the most recent chapter only to want to slam my hear against the desk or throw my computer across the room...I was actually thinking of dropping the series indefinitely, but my friend told me to just take some time off from it and see what's up with it at a later date._

 ** _So for now, this fic will be on hiatus._**

 _I know a lot of people will be upset, I am as well, but at this point it's for the best. I had thought about just posting this author's note, but I already had 2,000 words written and thought to give everyone one last chapter for now._


End file.
